Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Flowers don’t tell, they show.

Firefly had always kept that lesson close to her heart.

Being the apprentice florist that she is, it was also a guide to the language that her parents had left behind. A language that one would have thought naught of to exist, yet is often reminded of its presence when life becomes fettered with worldly troubles.

The language of flowers.

Elegant, ardent, and beautifully eloquent in the ways that you can use them.

Yet, that afternoon had begun in a manner that she had never quite expected in all her years of tending to her grandmother’s flower shop.

Despite being placed in the center of Penacony’s bustling capital, their shop has always remained relatively quiet. Even when the place had been full of potential buyers, they all kept a relatively reserved manner. Observing and picking out their colors of choice without so much as a peep.

The opposite can only be said for a grey-haired teenager who practically flew into the shop. Ignoring all the stares of surprise and confusion from the customers, only to head straight for Firefly’s counter. With a swing of his arm, he smacked a couple bills of credits on the middle of her countertop. He caught his breath before releasing a final sigh.

His amber eyes sharply met her iridescent violet ones. The question she had awaited from the boy came through ragged breathing.

“I don’t have much time, so I’ll make this quick.” He slid the bills further toward her, “But, how do you passive-aggressively say ‘fuck you’ in flowers?”

Firefly blinked once, then she blinked twice.

Nervous anticipation turned into swift confusion with a tilt of her head.

“…Excuse me?”

“You heard me-,” He gestured towards the shop as a whole, “With the fuck ton amount of flowers that you got here, there’s gotta be a quick and easy way to say ‘fuck you’ to someone, right?”

In all honesty, he wasn’t wrong about whether or not she had heard him. She most certainly did. But, a part of her couldn’t quite fathom the very notion of his question in and of itself.

“We-Well, I’m not entirely sure if there is a single flower that can be as direct as you might be looking for…” She pulled up a beautifully decorated book and gingerly placed it between them, “-But feel free to look through our catalogue so see if you can make a combination that would satisfactorily deliver your…-, uhm, message?”

The boy scratched at his head, “Look lady, I know jack shit about flowers-,”

“-That’s okay! I can give you a baseline to work from.” At this point, Firefly is just doing anything she can to keep his temper in check, “Most flowers have colors that can be used to differentiate their meaning.”

She flipped the pages onto specific sections that she had previously memorized.

“You can maybe start from geraniums? They are simply meant to symbolize stupidity.” Quickly shifting to a different page, she presented him with a variety of other colors, “There are also types of clotburs that are generally thought of to be rude flowers to give an individual.”

Surprisingly, the boy had picked up the catalogue with a degree of gentleness that she hadn’t quite expected. However, his gaze was still as intense as it had been ever since he entered the shop.

He looked up from a brief scan of the catalogue, “You can do all this with flowers?” his eyes filtered through the contents of the pages. A little spark of curiosity evident within his orbs.

Though she hadn’t quite recovered from the surprise, she noticed that a few of the shop’s regulars were starting to grow antsy. Whether it was out of common fear or irritation, she knew that she had to diffuse the situation first. After all, the welfare of the customers is always a priority.

“Be-Before I answer that, do you mind if you keep it down, sir?” She asked with trepidation. Her gaze scanning towards the other patrons, “I’m afraid that you’re inconveniencing the other guests…”

His head turned sharply towards the rest of the shop. Taking note of all the beady eyes staring at his existence, he swiftly looked back at her. She couldn’t help but to lightly flinch at the speed of his shifty gaze.

She thought she had agitated him, and was more than ready to apologize.

Only to find herself pleasantly surprised when he immediately lowered his gaze and clasped his hands together. His eyes turned apologetic all the same.

“O-Oh, sorry bout’ that.” A volume of softness now remained in his voice, “Didn’t think I was that loud. Never really been to one of these places before, y’know?”

At least, it was easy enough for her to tell that he had been sincere in his apology. Gone was that edged look within his gaze. Now, he looked more like a puppy that had just been caught accidentally breaking a vase.

Or maybe she had just been too forgiving. At least, her grandmother had always said so. It was rather easy for her to see the good in people. She nodded quietly with a light smile to a few of the staring regulars, who promptly breathed out a sigh of relief. At least they knew that there hadn’t been any inherent trouble coming with this grey-haired boy.

“That’s alright. You did look like you were in quite a hurry.” She recalled momentarily, before gesturing towards a more secluded side of the shop, “We have a quieter space in the back if you want to take your time looking over the flowers. You can head there first, and I’ll be with you in just a second!”

Placing the catalogue under is arm, he nodded affirmatively, “Ri-Right, I’ll do just that.” He took the time to flash a timid and apologetic wave towards the rest of the customers in the shop, “Sorry, everybody. We’re all good over here.” Swiftly ushering himself towards the back the moment he got a few nods of acknowledgement from everyone else, flashing a thin smile to Firefly before moving once more.

She replied in kind before sighing to herself. It was rare for her to get customers that would speak more than a few words when they were asking about or purchasing their items, let alone one that would heedlessly barge in without quite the question in hand.

Well, the more, the merrier. In any case, it’s a funny change of pace from what she’s used to.

“Dear Firefly, are you alright?”

An old voice shook her out of her reverie, only to see one of the regulars now facing her with an assortment of flowers in hand.

“Oh, Mr. Guordo! Sorry about the commotion, but I think I got it under control.” She waved of his concerns with an apologetic smile, “Looks like he was just confused about what to do.”

The old man groaned at the thought of the previous scenario, “Why is it that the one time someone of your age comes into this shop, they are always such a boisterous bunch?” The man watched with concern as Firefly swiftly packaged his items, “Are you sure you’re going to be alright with that boy? Since your grandmother is out of the shop, no one will be around to help if he tries something on you.”

If the guy hadn’t apologized, then Firefly would have more than likely shared his sentiment. But she had an inkling that there was nothing to be concerned about. Someone who’s willing to immediately correct themselves when they were rightfully reprimanded is rarely the type to make trouble.

“Ah, I appreciate the concern. But I got it from here.” Handing over his packaged items, she flashed him a light wink, “Say hi to Mrs. Guordo for me, hope she still enjoys these flowers!”

Mr. Guordo patted her hand gratefully, “She always does, dear Firefly.” He went on to grab his flowers and made his way towards the shop exit, “Do extend my greetings to your grandmother!”

She replied with a smile, “Will do!”

As the old man exited the shop, Firefly took her time to gather her wits about. Like her regular had said, she rarely had to deal with people of her age in such a shop. Not that it made things exceedingly difficult, but they tend to have their requests tangled up within itself. Causing things to be a bit more complicated than it has to be.

Much more so when their request had been rather… unique.

So, she walked towards the shop’s viewing room with that thought still lingering about in her mind.

Only to find that her boisterous visitor had been languidly rifling through the catalogue pages. A look of distant contemplation filled his gaze as he didn’t even notice that she had returned to the room.

It was a far cry from the guy who almost tore down the shop doors just minutes ago and looked like he was just about ready to fight the Aeons themselves.

“I have to say…” She decided to break the silence as she walked to the opposite side of the table. His body jolted in clear surprise when her voice rang out, “It’s much better talking to you when you haven’t been shouting questions at me.”

He could only chuckle sheepishly, “My bad. I sorta ran all the way here, so the adrenaline was still high in the system.” He nodded his head towards the front of the shop, “Hope I didn’t get in the way of business just now. Saw a lot of old people out there so I probably scared them shitless, huh?”

“For lack of a better word, yeah.”

He grimaced, “Again, my bad…”

She stared him down for a while, only to break out in a light chuckle, “Alright, in any case, how can I help you?” Her giggles only grew in lieu of remembering his earlier question, “Did you find a way to sufficiently express the… message you wanted these flowers to convey?”

“Uuuh… I could use some more pointers, if you don’t mind?” He waited for her to nod before flipping back towards his designated pages, “Like I said, I want the message to be a tad bit more subtle rather than having it just jump at her.”

“Right… passive-aggressive, so black roses are out of the question then.”

He hummed while he gave the catalogue for her to peruse, “And what do those mean?”

Firefly didn’t skip a beat, “You’re pretty much telling someone to go, umm, die?”

“Ah, right. Maybe nothing too emo.” It was his turn to chuckle, “Maybe things that are more like a… clever insult? Like those things you said that symbolized being stupid, the, uuhh…-, the…”

“Geraniums?” She suggested it with another titter of her laughter.

“Right, those things! Those should be a perfect one to start with.” He looked with bemusement and said, “You guys have all these flowers in stock?”

“If the catalogue doesn’t have an ‘unavailable’ tag, then we should have it.” Firefly answered before following up with a pause, noticing the look on his face, “You seem surprised… we are a flower shop – if that answers your bewilderment – or are you doubting our abilities to keep a healthy stock of our items?”

He shook his head, hands raised in trepidation, “No, no, no, not at all! It’s just that… aren’t flowers meant to be all happy and vomit-inducing wholesomeness?” He inquired with uncertainty, “What’s the point of having all the depressing junk in stock?”

The further they talk, the more Firefly discovers unique ways of describing things in her life, “While that sort of description can be accurate in terms of general understanding, flowers are a bit more complicated than that. Not everything is always happy, and that-inducing wholesomeness.” She moved to grab a pot of roses they had nearby, “Take these flowers… I’m sure you’ve seen them plenty of times whenever Valentine’s Day comes up, right?”

“Red roses… just about the only type of flower I know.” He scoffed lightly, “Aren’t those supposed to mean love or some shit like that?”

Firefly picked the brightest rose of the bunch, “For these lighter red colored ones, yes. They generally represent love or a deep bond between one another.” She then picked on a darker shade of them, “But for these rather burgundy ones, it could also symbolize regret or something unrequited. Rejection, of that kind, at least. Thorny ones can also be a signal of your heart’s pain.”

Taking his silence as a motion to keep going, she moved her attention to another flower, “Some are a bit more subtle than the others. Hyacinths – for example, are normally used to wish someone well, or to be playful with another.” She picked one out of the pile, “Purple hyacinths – however – are used to symbolize jealousy.”

His light hums assured her that he was still listening as she shifted towards a different section, “But those that would fit more to your request would probably be on these shelves. We have a yellow carnation to start – which stands for disappointment.” She carried on after bringing a couple stems of those onto the table, “And if you want to express your hatred for this person, then orange lilies should do the trick just fine!”

When he met her with silence once more, she cringed inwardly. She had somewhat of a bad habit that she would always find herself apologizing for.

“S-Sorry… did I bore you?” Her eyes remained glued to the floor as her hands twirled timidly amongst one another, “I tend to ramble on when it comes to talking about flowers, so don’t be afraid to let me know if you’ve lost me-,”

A brief chuckle was all she heard before his voice rang through.

“Nah, you’re good. Kinda been enjoying the lesson so far.” His lips curved lightly, “Don’t let me stop ya. I ain’t gonna stop you when you’re clearly having so much fun!”

That’s a first, if there ever were any.

Besides her grandmother, no one can really keep up with her garden rambles when she had finally hit the throttle. As much as the older regulars try to keep up, it will always come to a point where they would have to stop her in the case of having to wrap up their orders – while people of her age, simply had no interest to even begin listening to her.

So, to hear a person that she can describe as a contemporary freely assure her that her ramblings hadn't been excessive…

Had been a warm and welcome change for her.

Not that she particularly knew how to deal with it, however.

“O-Oh, umm-, that’s-, uuhh, nice of you.” She cleared her throat in hopes of getting her wits back on track, “A-Anyways, since we’ve finished picking the focal points of your message, then we can begin assembling it.”

“Huh… that’s neat.” He picked on the three flowers she had laid on the table, “You can make this all into a bouquet?”

“Sure, can do! It’ll just cost a little bit of extra with the added fillers and final touches.” She began prepping the components for one, gesturing towards the rest of the flowers in the meantime, “Any other part of the message that you wanna add to the focal flowers?”

He mused for a few seconds before his eyes glinted mischievously, “Oh, is there anything that can signify being crazy, or something that’s straight up calling someone a lunatic?”

“That would probably be dahlias…”

“Great, then add those too!” He chuckled as he watched her nod and pick one up, “Gotta make sure I cover all the bases with this one, heh.”

Another question then settled itself, but this time – it had been Firefly who had been thinking of what to ask. She’s not one to really pry into the businesses of others, but there must some exceedingly odd reason for someone to be assembling such a… conflicting style of a bouquet. Seeing as he had been quite laid back with her so far, she figured that it would alright for her to ask.

Besides, how bad of a reason can it be?

“I don’t mean to pry… but if you don’t mind me asking, what made you want to make this kind of bouquet?” Her question was tentative. Trying her best not to use the wrong word that might actually offend the guy, “Is it a rough break up, o-or something along the lines of that?” She paused for a moment, before adding, “Y-You don’t have to tell me the details of it, but I’m just, uuh-, curious?”

She expected for him to pause. To wave her off just like any of the other people who had requested a similar combination of a bouquet. Most of which would have followed it up with her being too much of a nosy-nobody, citing that she was a pain for having even asked such a question.

But she just wanted to show that she cares for her customers.

Despite the slight pain of having her concerns waved off with such rejections, she never hesitates to see if she can help them.

Yet, it only surprised her once more, when he not only replied without missing a beat, but he had started it off with a hearty chuckle.

“No… no… nothing like that, haha! Though I can’t really blame you for thinking that way.”

She looked at him owlishly, “Then… what-,”

“It’s for my twin sister, hehe.” He answered freely, “It’s our birthday today, so I decided to give her a funny surprise!” His laughter reverberated throughout the humble shop room, “Imagine the look on her face when I give her a cool-looking bouquet, only for it to just be me talking some fucking smack that she will never understand, hah!”

…

Honestly, Firefly couldn’t decide if that reasoning was any better than what she had thought it to be.

But, one thing’s for sure…

She had no chance in holding back the spasms of laughter that exploded from her inner being.

“Wha-, haHAHAHA!” She couldn’t prevent the pits of laughter to intersperse her words, “In what world would this be a proper gift for your twin sister of all people?!”

He had no choice but to join in her laughter, “Hey now, you can’t honestly say that this isn’t an ingenious idea on my part!” Waving animatedly towards the flowers, he exclaimed, “Imagine giving someone who knows fuck all about flowers a bouquet, only for her to realize months later that it had been one that was mocking her ass!”

Admittedly, Firefly can say that it was somewhat of a brilliant idea. She had lived all her life surrounded by these flowers, that she didn’t even think about pranking someone by subverting people’s expectations on what these flowers would normally symbolize.

She wiped the tears of bewildered amusement off her eyes, “Still… to think that this is for a family member-,” Somehow, she still managed to assemble the bouquet through blurred vision and uncontrollable giggles, “You’re quite full of ridiculous surprises, huh?”

He puffed up his chest with pride, “Well, it’s high time that I get her back for all the stupid shit she always pulls out of nowhere.”

Oh, now that he mentioned it…

“Speaking of time… you’ve been here for quite some time.” She looked at the watch on the wall of the room, “Didn’t you say that you don’t have much time?”

The guy paused and blinked rapidly before checking his watch, only to grasp the table in sudden realization.

“SHIT, I’m supposed to pick my sister up from practice!” Flailing about on the spot, he took a few absent-minded turns before he finally looked back towards her, “Ummm, I’m gonna have to dip reaaaaal quick, so do you think I can pay for those now?”

Somewhere within her, she couldn’t help but to feel a bit of disappointment. She was just starting to enjoy their conversations, but alas, there’s nothing much that she can really do about it, “Of course! It’s done anyway. Let me ring you up at the counter in a jiffy.”

“Thanks a bunch.”

They both rushed towards the front counter with the bouquet in her hands. With swift navigation of the till and calculations of the bouquet’s total cost, they were able to finish up the transaction in no more than a minute.

“…And that will be five thousand five hundred credits.”

He handed her the exact amount of credit in a heartbeat, and the opening sound of her till signified the end of their interactions. Another tinge of disappointment ticked itself towards her heart as she handed over the bouquet in exchange for his credit.

“Thank you for your patronage!” She flashed him her signature smile of joy. Maybe one that had been a bit more professional than she would’ve liked it to have been, “Oh, and I wish you and your sister the happiest of birthdays!”

His grin shone beneath the golden glow of the sinking evening sun, “Thank you – for dealing with my shenanigans.” His grin then turned sheepish once more, “And sorry again for the whole commotion at the beginning. If you can pass on my apologies to the shop owner, then it would be great!”

Firefly giggled, “As a matter of fact, my grandmother owns this place.” She nodded back reassuringly, “Rest assured, I’ll make sure to deliver the message once she gets back.”

Another one of his smiles was then accompanied by an affirmative nod. He lightly sprung his steps before making his way towards the door, “Well then, I’ll see ya around!” He made it halfway through the door before he looked back, “And sorry once again!”

Shouting after him, she waved him away, “Take care!”

And just like that, he bolted off past her shop windows. His presence disappeared just as fast as the winds had carried them in.

For once, she sighed to herself in resignation. It was rare for such customers to ever turn to regulars. The amount of one-timers that the shop has had were pretty much incalculable, so Firefly held very little hope of ever seeing the boy again.

But there was just something within her that made her think that his company would be something that she had somewhat missed. Chaotic as it was, he was a comfortable pair of ears to have lingering around.

These things are very much of a normal occurrence when you are part of a normally tightly-knit group. As much as she wants to cultivate a friendly relationship with everyone that comes across the store, she knows that such a thing can only be possible in an incredibly idealistic world.

Still, it’s somewhat of a shame.

I didn’t even get his name…

Leaning on the support of her hand, she sat dejectedly at the store counter. Closing her eyes to think back on the happenings of the day.

Though unbeknownst to her, the moment she had almost wandered off into the land of her inner thoughts, rapid footsteps began sounding out as they approached the shop in swift movements.

It was only when the shop’s doorbell rang, did she snap out of her reverie.

“S-Sorry for the rush, but I forgot one thing!”

And before she knew it, the same silver-haired boy had stood right across her counter the moment she opened her eyes. The bouquet still in hand, while he panted to catch his breath. Any more adjustments, and he would’ve made a carbon copy reenactment of earlier afternoon’s encounter.

It took her a couple of seconds to realize what he had said.

“O-Oh, right, of course!” She stood up to walk to his side, “What else can I help you with?”

It didn’t look like he had expected her to sidle up to him just like that; him picking at the back of his neck only served to emphasize that fact.

That hesitation was only there for a brief moment, before he seemingly steeled himself and reached for something in his pocket. Only to pull out his phone, unlock it, and push it towards her on its contact sheet.

“Your name and phone number, if you don’t mind…” His breathless grin returned to his features, “In case you need someone to listen to your flower ramblings again?”

She spared a couple of double-takes between his face and his phone, barely managing to utter a word as she had spent a lot of her focus on holding back the sudden rush of heat that’s threatening to warm her face up.

“U-Uhm… yeah, sure!” She took his phone with shaky hands. Getting both her name and number wrong on multiple attempts before finally making sure that all her contact details had been correct and placing it back onto his awaiting hand.

He took one look at the filled contact sheet and smiled once more, before pressing a button and placing his phone on his ear. Followed by the sound of her own ringtone echoing through the shop.

In a flash, she pulled her phone out of her dress pocket, and an unsaved contact number displayed itself on her screen while her phone vibrated through the call.

“Might wanna pick that up.” The boy caid with a smug grin, “Could be a friend of yours.”

She wasted no time in feigning a look of ‘duh!’ before she picked the call up, and placed her phone up onto her ear.

“So, Firefly, huh?”

The voice on the phone chuckled.

“Nice to meet ya! The name’s Caelus.”

He could probably see her puzzled look.

“I’ll text you how to spell it later.”

“Well, Caelus…” She purposely looked away from him, “Usually, people don’t call when they’re both in the same room. Much less when they’re facing each other.”

“True. Though I’m sure that you’ve well figured out by now that I am by no means a conventional person.”

Firefly simply giggled, “That I do know.”

Finally, she looked back towards him. A pleasant feeling it was, to see that he had also shared the same type of smile that she had sported upon her lips.

“Anyways, if you need a friend, then you know how to find me.” His head tilted with a sense of expectation, “I’ll… see you around?”

“I think that’s my line… but in any case.” Firefly admitted shamelessly, “You know where to find me.”

“Huh, touché.”

With a final chuckle, he closed the call. He’d already been backtracking towards the door, keeping his bouquet safely tucked in his arm. With a two-fingered salute, he quickly made his way through the door, only to be stopped as an elderly woman tried to get in at the same time he tried to get out.

“Oh, pardon me.” He quickly stepped to the side as he held the door open for her.

The elder smiled sweetly, “You’re good, my dear.”

Caelus replied in kind, before flashing one final smile and a nod towards Firefly, who identically reciprocated his farewell, before once again, watching him run off to wherever it is he had to be.

She immediately tended to the elder, who just entered the shop. Taking the bags she had been carrying onto her own hold

“You were out there for quite some time…” She claimed as she palced the bags of groceries down, “How was the shopping trip, grandma?”

After a brief hug, the elder gave a big thumbs up, “It was magnificent! I got to buy a lot of the ingredients that we’ve been missing for our family dinner.”

Firefly can never resist a smile of her own whenever her grandmother is in an excellent mood, “That’s good to hear…”

Her grandma then looked back towards the door – particularly towards the direction which Caelus had just ran off to, and then looked back towards her with an air of idle amusement, “That young man just now happened to have carried such a… provocative bouquet.” She paused for a moment, before asking, “Do you happen to know who that was, Firefly?”

She was about to answer, before she felt her phone’s notification sound pinged out. Only then did she realize that she hadn’t put her phone back down after their brief call.

On her screen, the notification flashed the number that had previously called her. This time, however, accompanied by a test message that read:

“Caelus”

A light giggle escaped her, before she looked back up towards her grandmother.

“It was a friend of mine.”

Days passed by, and Firefly went on with her daily routine. School in the daytime, and evenings spent tending to her grandmother’s flower shop.

Having gone through a particularly slow day for the shop, she took the time to take further inventory of the flowers that had just been ordered. Her grandmother had decided to close up early in lieu of wanting to watch a special program of her favorite soap opera.

But she barely got through her list before her phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out, only to smile at the caller ID displayed on her screen.

Walking towards the front of the shop, she picked up the call after clearing her throat.

“Hello there, this is Firefly of Ruth’s Penacony Garden speaking.” She feigned a tone of professional indifference, “How can I help you today?”

“Wow… and here I thought that we were friends enough for you to at least save my number.” The voice on the other side sighed pensively, “Looks like I’ve been shot down before I even said anything. An impressive new record, I guess.”

Try as she might, there’s no keeping the façade when she had genuinely been delighted to hear his voice, “It’s good to finally hear from you, Caelus.” She looked up towards the room’s watch, “You need something from the shop? I’m closing up soon, so I can probably save something for you if you put down an order for it?”

“Actually, I was about to ask what time you can get off work. But it looks like that question answered itself.” His breath resounded through the speaker, “There’s a nice little ice cream shop that just opened up near the School of Erudition. Think you’ll fancy having a look with me?”

There was no preventing the blush that had crept up her face, “I-I… uhm-, that sounds like a good idea.” She picked up a notepad to write down the newly proposed agenda, “When do you have in mind?”

There was another pause, and a light round of his footsteps pattering through the call, before his voice came through once more.

“I was kinda thinking right about…”

The bells at the storefront echoed through the shop.

“…Now.”

Firefly looked up from the notepad and towards the doors of the shop.

Finding herself pleasantly surprised when a silver-haired boy stood readily by. His hand hovered by his ear as he waved his phone as a greeting.

They both shared a smile before he nodded towards her.

“Yo!”

Chapter Text

The months that followed suit brought upon an atypical change towards Firefly’s flower shop routine, and she wasn’t the only one to have realized that.

“Will that young man be coming by today too, Firefly?”

Her grandmother’s question stopped the girl in her tracks. She shifted the boxes she had been carrying to allow her free hand to check up on her phone. “Umm… He hasn’t said anything today.” Putting her phone back in her pocket, she shrugged, “Then again, he doesn’t really let me know ahead of time when he wants to pop by.”

“Ah, so he’s simply a man who follows his heart and comes to see you any time, hmm?” Her grandmother giggled heartily, practically cooing. “That’s rather adorable, isn’t it? I can’t exactly blame him; you are beyond the cutest of the cuties, my dear.”

Firefly groaned at the implications, though she couldn’t exactly prevent the heat from rushing to her cheeks, “It’s not like that, grandma…” Her pouting simply incited a knowing smile from her grandma, “He’s just someone who’s interested in learning more about flowers, that’s all.”

To Firefly’s credit, that wasn’t an excuse at all. Said young man had been frequenting the shop while furthering his knowledge on the variety of flowers and their meanings. But it would be a lie to say that flowers and plants have been the only things that they revolve their conversations and activities around. Caelus had been surprisingly helpful around the shop, and was more than happy to assist the staff and patrons in lightening their load.

To be honest, Firefly couldn’t hold back a smile from popping out once she started thinking about those moments.

Once again, she clearly wasn’t the only one to have noticed this.

The elder hummed teasingly, “Yet here you are voluntarily restocking the pots and flowers out in front of the store.” A youthful giggle rang out from the gleeful woman, “Normally, you’d let the other workers deal with that since you dislike having to be out there for too long.”

To that, Firefly had no witty response. Nor did it help that another regular of theirs decided to chip in his thoughts just as Firefly was about to make her way out of the door.

“Will that helpful boyfriend of yours come by today, little Firefly? I promised him some of my wife’s delectable homemade cookies the last time he helped with carrying my purchases to the car.” The old man had a hopeful smile about his features, “I can’t stay for much longer, so I was hoping to catch a glimpse of him before I make my way back home.”

By no means was she intending to offend the old man, but Firefly barely managed to process anything past the word ‘boyfriend’.

“You-You can leave the cookies on the counter, Mr. Iverman. I’ll make sure that those get to him.” Firely couldn’t resist a humph, “And for the last time, he’s just a friend!”

Just like that, Firefly made her exit on the patrons and her grandmother. All of which, had a mischievously knowing grin plastered on their faces. Mr. Iverman for one, chuckled with gushing excitement as he addressed the shop owner.

“It seems like our dear Firefly has finally found a boy that she can be smitten with.” He brought his flowers up to the cashier, where Firefly’s grandma had been waiting, “What do you think of the little girl finally growing up, Melinda?”

Melinda smiled thoughtfully, “Well, I suppose it’s about time for her to try and explore her options. She hasn’t had quite the luck when it comes to befriending boys of her age.” Sighing at all the recollection of all the young men who had tried their advances with her granddaughter, her gaze turned hopeful, “Though chaotic as this one had started, I’m sure that Firefly can decide for herself if he turns out to be one worth sticking around for.”

“Judging by how red her face had been, I’d gander that this one stands a tad bit more of a chance.” Mr. Iverman declared it with confidence. A notion that Melinda could only echo with the same sort of confidence.

The elder knew very well that her dear granddaughter is someone who has no issues at all when it comes to making friends. However, there are always the few bad apples who do not hesitate to take advantage of her overly understanding and forgiving nature. Melinda could count way too many instances where her kindness had become the very thing that her so-called ‘friends’ ended up taking advantage of. From simply bailing out on their meetings, to utilizing her presence to get closer to other people that would have otherwise given them zero attention, she’s seen Firefly get hurt in so many ways, and yet the girl remained tough and faced everything with a smile.

It’s alright, grandma. I’ve still got you and the shop after all!

Melinda sighed to herself. Sometimes, she can only ponder what has become of the world.

A part of her can only hope that there would be people to take care of her once it is time for her to leave their care.

Meanwhile, Firefly was still busy trying to calm herself down. She was never one to get flustered so easily, but the way Mr. Iverman had referred to Caelus somehow caught her completely off guard.

She took deep, undulated breaths, “It’s just the way old people talk. Just... shake it off.” She mumbled to no one in particular. Her voice was slightly muffled by the presence of the boxes in her arms, “I’m just restocking this cause I have nothing better to do – that’s all!”

Yet she remained flat-footed. A small voice at the back of her head knowing full well that her ramblings were nothing but meaningless attempts at trying to find a justification to her denials.

A sigh was all that she could muster.

Never mind that. I’ll deal with it some other time.

Gathering her wits about her, she refocused her arms and shifted to bring the boxes to their rightful destination. Careful as to not move too quickly considering the fact that she has mountains of those boxes blocking her vision.

She didn’t even make it past a couple of steps before she felt a light thud hitting the boxes from the other side. A faint sound of something clattering on the ground followed suit.

Crap.

She was just about ready to apologize, before the upper half of her boxes suddenly found lift off as a pair of hands took them under its stride.

Familiar amber eyes popped into her vision, alongside that trademark grin of his.

“Looks like quite the load you got there…” He chuckled in amusement, before he let his face come closer to hers ever so slightly, “Need some help?”

Gone were her panicked thoughts at the sight of her helper.

“Caelus!” She took a quick peek at the time, “I thought you had club practices on Thursdays, why’re you here already?”

Placing the boxes on the ground, Caelus took the other half of the boxes off her hands, “Practice finished early. We’ve got a friendly match coming, coach didn’t wanna push our eleven-a-sides too much. Might as well have a look and see how my favorite florists are doing.” He explained before nodding towards the shop, “Looks like things are pretty calm in there. Slow day?”

“Not exactly. A lot of our regulars visited a lot earlier in the afternoon, we’re just getting ready to prep for closing.” Firefly put up a hand in lieu of thanking him, “I can take care of the rest of these – why don’t you head on inside for a bit? You’re probably exhausted from your training. We have the usual snacks and drinks ready at the counter.”

From what she’d gathered from their conversations, Caelus had a rather demanding role when it came to playing in his football team. It was somewhat of an understanding that Firefly herself quickly noticed where he’d be particularly beat whenever he came around to visit after his training sessions. Sure, he probably still has more energy than the entirety of the flower shop combined, but it was a slight change that she couldn’t help but to notice. That being said, she knew that her grandmother had been one to notice too, considering the extra snacks that would show up when evenings were about to come by.

Caelus instead mirrored her kneeling to the boxes, “I can help with these instead. Still gotta burn some of that fitness, y’know?” His hands worked deftly around the packages, “We can get to your grandma’s cookies in a bit.”

If there is one thing that Firefly has learned about Caelus, is how quickly he learns how to do just about anything. Well, anything that doesn’t involve numbers – as he had put it before. Considering the amount of simple, yet tedious jobs that are littered across the flower shop, his sudden presence over the last few months had become a huge help to the business as a whole.

Of course, for Firefly, it meant that her evenings had been just that little bit less lonely.

And by a little bit, she kind of meant by a lot.

If she had been one hundred percent honest with herself, she won’t hide from the fact that there are quite some moments where her life had been lacking in the presence of others. As warm as her grandmother and their regular patrons are, being able to act and talk the way she had been able to with Caelus was an experience that was few and far between. Not to mention, in the days where she would have to watch the shop all by her lonesome in the rather empty days, that void within her emotions felt bigger than ever.

So, as she watched him work his way around unpackaging the pots and flowers, she couldn’t help but to simply sit back and watch for just a moment.

Blame it on the fact that she’d rarely have this sort of time to herself, but she’s inclined to enjoy it regardless.

“So, are these like, the flowers that can handle being in the sun and all that?” He picked up a certain plant from its container, “You said last time that some of these guys actually like being outside.”

Snapping herself back into reality, Firefly cleared her throat and knelt down alongside him. “Y-Yeah! These guys are a bunch of pink hibiscuses that we just got from our partners down near the Pacific Islands.” She outstretched her hands to gently take the potted plant from his hold, “Instead of showering them with water, they like to sunbathe instead.” Cupping their petals, Firefly smiled softly, “I remember accidentally letting a batch of these ones, waste away in storage when I first started working here. I’ve never left them in the dark since then.”

“Speaking of, how long have you had your gig here?” Caelus asked, his eyes still remained on the movement of her hands, “I know that you’ve prolly been here for a while, considering that all the oldies know who you are. Your grandma mentioned that you’ve been around since you were just a tiny lil’ girly.”

Firefly chuckled, “Well, she’s not wrong. I’ve technically been helping out with the shop for as long as I can remember.” An air of melancholy filtered through her lips, “I lost my parents when I was seven. So, it’s bound to be somewhere along those times where I started frequenting the shop.”

Caelus frowned, “Shit… Sorry to hear that.”

“It’s alright. It was a long time ago anyway.” She quickly smiled to ease his concerns, “They were also the ones who got me interested in flowers – and my grandma opened this shop to honor their will and memory. So, in a way, it’s kind of like they never left.”

Seeing the reminiscent glint in her eyes, Caelus could only mirror her smile. His gaze promptly snapped back to the movements of her hands as she giddily pulled another flower out of its container. It’s unique, thin-lined shape immediately caught his attention the moment she clutched the plant closer.

“And this right here, were the flowers that they first showed me.”

Caelus tipped his head to the side, “Lavenders?”

His guess brought about a giggle from the girl, “Close, but no cigar.” Just like she had been with the hibiscuses, she traced the miniscule petals of the flower with gentle care, “These are salvias. Not only do they like the sun as well, but they look completely unique compared to your typical flowers.” She picked a few stems from the batch and offered one for him to take, “These blue ones are my favorites. They represent wisdom and the prayers of having a long life.”

Taking the flower into his hand, Caelus took the time to observe its unique form. His expression twisting and changing as he sat there comparing the vibrant colors that each segment had.

Firefly grinned at his expressions, “Not only that, but I was actually named Firefly because of these flowers.”

“Oh, how come?” Caelus asked.

“Apparently, as the story goes, my parents were looking over a field of salvias one random night when my mom was still having me.” She absentmindedly picked at the tips of the batch while she regaled the story, “These flowers are high in nectar, which attracts fireflies when the habitat is just right.” She sighed longingly, “The view was so beautiful, and the night was just so mesmerizing, that they both immediately agreed to name me based on the very thing that made that night so special for the two of them.”

“Hence, Firefly…” Caelus’ conclusion brought a smile upon her lips.

She giggled freely, “That’s right. It feels quite special in a way.” She continued unpacking all the other pots and containers while Caelus followed her cues, “Even though they’ve been gone for so long, my name and the shop are constant reminders that they didn’t really leave me alone.”

The boy could only watch with a degree of admiration that he couldn’t quite explain. For all that he has learned about Firefly, it was stories that had been filled with tragedies upon tragedies. Yet, no one would have been able to tell if they were to take a glance at how Firefly herself had grown as a person. Such a strong and sweet person, born out of circumstances that would have undoubtedly brought others through an entirely different avenue of life. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how she would have felt growing up.

Nevertheless, he can ardently say that he was glad that he made that spontaneous decision to prank his sister with those flowers.

Where else was he going to find a smile as gentle and full as hers had been?

Just as he was about to open his mouth again, an ever-familiar feeling of metallic vibration emanated from within his pocket. He groaned in annoyance as he begrudgingly pulled his phone out and stared at the notification that just pop by.

“Speaking of never really leaving you alone…” His fingers zipped across the phone’s touchscreen, “My ugly ogre of a sister needs an emergency picking up from her karaoke session, so I’m gonna have to cut this short.” He breathed out exasperatedly as he stood up, not forgetting to offer her a hand, “I’d honestly rather stay, but I wouldn’t hear the end of it if I don’t go pick her ass up now.”

Internally, she couldn’t help but to chuckle at that nickname that he’s repeatedly used to refer to his sister. Though she was sure that his sister hadn’t come anywhere close to looking like his passionate description, she was inclined to think that she must be unique in her own way.

She graciously let him pull her up, “Oh, don’t mind us! Your sister is more important.” Firefly further assured him by gesturing towards the empty boxes, “We managed to get everything out thanks to your help as always.” Before her eyes perked up, “Oh, but hold on a second!”

Caelus didn’t get a chance to reply before she bolted into the shop. Leaving him for a brief few seconds to himself, before she ran out with a small enclosed package in hand.

“My grandma baked some cake for our regulars, and she wanted you to have some!” She gleefully urged him to take the foodstuff, “Take it as a thank you for all the help you’ve done around this place! The patrons and staff all enjoy your presence here, so hopefully we can get to see you more often.”

Picking at his neck, Caelus stammered, “Aha, it’s nothing, really.” He took the package with a grateful little bow of his head, “If anything, I should be the one thanking you guys for dealing with my ass every time I come here.”

Firefly feigned a pout, “Don’t make it sound like you’re a hassle to have around here.” She pointedly jabbed at his chest, “Like I said, we enjoy your presence here. Don’t hesitate to come by more often! Nowadays, even our regulars wait for the time you’d come by and have a chat with them.”

Again, he couldn’t stop picking at his neck, “Well… if you say so.” He lifted the package in his hand, “Say thanks to your grandma, I’ll bring something round next time!”

“You don’t have to, but that’s up to you.” Firefly giggled, before playfully pushing him away, “Now, go! You don’t wanna keep your sister waiting, do you?”

“R-Right.” Stuffing the package safely in his bag, he made a move to get going, “I’ll see ya around then?”

Firefly waved lightly, “Till next time.” She paused with a pointed gaze, “Be careful on your way back!”

Though he nodded in affirmation, she noticed that he was quite hesitant about leaving. She wanted to ask, but opted to wait until he looked like he had his thoughts sorted out. It somewhat reminded her of the ending of their first meeting, only this time, his eyes had wandered around for a lot longer than it had been before.

She couldn’t help but to ask, “What’s wrong?”

Realizing that she had noticed his hesitant gaze, he mumbled something under his breath before he fully faced her once more.

“Thi- This Sunday… think you’ll be free?” His question wavered, before he steeled himself, “I have that friendly match coming up, so… I was just wondering if you’d wanna watch or something like that…”

The suddenness of the question caught her heart off guard, but she managed to stifle any sort of a reaction by feigning a musing hum, “I… think I’ll be free by eight or nine? I'd have to restock some of the outside display again by then.” She cleared her throat to void all the potential stammering, “Will that be a good time?”

“Yeah, yeah! That’ll be great! The match starts at around ten anyways.” Taking his phone out, he scratched at his head, “I’ll send you the location of my school since we’ll be having the match there.” He grimaced at the sight of his schedule, “Shoot. I’d pick you up, but I’ve gotta stick around for-,”

“No, no, it’s fine! I can make my way there by myself.” She surged forward to lay a calming hand on his own, “Just focus on the match. I don’t want your coach to yell at you in account of you worrying about me.”

Caelus paused, “You sure?”

Firefly nodded, “Positive.” She followed it suit with a grin, “I’ll see you there, Sunday.”

He mulled over the matter for another second before relenting. He then pulled away it the same direction he’d always run off to.

“I’ll see ya there then!”

Firefly replied with a mute, yet gentle wave of her hand. And just like that, the boy had once again run off into the sunset. A notion that she couldn’t help but to giggle at.

Always so eventful when he’s around.

She took in the evening street view for a few minutes before sighing to herself. She was ready to head back in and prep for closing, when her foot accidentally kicked a flashy object that had apparently laid close to her vicinity.

Just as she was about to dismiss it as a random object, her eyes quickly took notice of the unfamiliar symbol at the back of it, which immediately told her that it had been an ID card of some sort.

Huh, I wonder who this belongs to…

Dusting the card off of the bit of grime that had latched on to it, she turned it around, only to instantly recognize who the owner of the card is.

Caelus Nokianvirtanen.

That must’ve been the clattering sound that she first heard before he picked up her boxes.

Flipping the card back and forth, she quietly mulled over what she should do with it.

“I can give it back to him when I come by and visit this Sunday…” Were her initial thoughts.

“…But what if he needs it tomorrow?” She murmured to herself, pulling her phone out of her pocket to quickly open the location tag that Caelus had just sent, “Tomorrow’s still a school day. What if he needs it for class?”

She hesitated within her deliberation. Her gaze pilfered between the card and his open chat box on her phone, before she took a deep breath.

Fine. Looks like I’m making a quick trip to the Academy of Preservation tomorrow.

Bad idea. Bad idea. Baaad idea.

What made her think that it was a good idea in the first place?

This was a school for the absolute elite students of Penacony. Yet, here she is, a student who had to get a scholarship just to get into Dream’s Edge High School, simply meandering about one of the nation’s most prestigious academies.

She felt like an absolute stowaway.

Sure, the security stationed at the front gates seemed to have paid no mind to the fact that a girl wearing a completely different school uniform looked as if she had just aimlessly wandered into the facility without the slightest of clues of where she should even begin heading towards.

Even now, she’s gone past at least three massive buildings, and she still has no clue if she had been anywhere near her destination. At the very least, the location tag for the school’s football field that Caelus had sent her had begun inching closer to where the map application had shown her to be, so not all is completely lost.

It didn’t help, however, that she seemed to have arrived just in time for the school’s dismissal bell to ring out. The myriad of students that ranged from hyperactive middle schoolers to tired high schoolers who couldn’t wait to get home practically oozed out of every crevice of the school buildings. If anyone were to view the scenes out of context, then they would have thought that the president of The Family had decided to finally show himself after decades of enigmatic behind-the-scenes presence.

Suffice to say, it did nothing to calm Firefly’s ever-growing anxiety.

She’s normally terrible in unfamiliar places to begin with, even more so when there’s absolutely no one that she can comfortably turn to for directions or just to talk to help calm her nerves. The swirling lines at the edge of her vision were starting to overwhelm her, and she desperately tried to find a place to sit.

Lo and behold, an empty bench presented itself the moment she rounded the corner of what she was able to somewhat discern to be the edge of a baseball field, and she took no time to immediately rest herself. Her body plopping onto the wooden surface with a thud.

After making sure that she was actually still breathing, she quickly tried to regain her bearings. Focusing on the small blip of the navigation app, she was able to at least see that she was pretty close to where the football fields are supposed to be. That being said, a quick scan of her surroundings didn’t seem to help her pinpoint just where exactly are those football fields supposed to be.

Firefly could only sigh to herself. She shook her legs in an attempt to keep them wide awake. Knowing that if she can at least shut her brain down, her legs could carry her on autopilot.

“Guess I gotta keep walking…”

“Oh, my, Aeons, is that our dearest Firefly?!”

“No way, Chrissy, you’re kidding me??”

She doesn’t know why, she hasn’t even looked up to see who it was, but the sheer familiarity of that voice just immediately froze her being. Gone was the intent to stand back up and start walking, and in came an influx of sudden terror.

Deep in her heart, she knew that she would recognize that horrid voice anywhere she went. A part of her had wanted to just bolt away from the scene, but just as she had prepped her legs to go on autopilot, it decided to remain still. Frozen just like the rest of her body had been, as the sound of prissy footsteps began circling her.

Slowly, it didn’t take long for her to realize that this group of people had sufficiently trapped her into the confines of the bench.

She counted three, four, no-, five people? At this point, her mind was starting to run for the exit, just like it had been mere minutes ago.

A guy’s voice pierced through her eardrums, “Hoo, this gal’s a friend of yours, Chrissy?” Firefly could practically feel his breath brushing across the top of her head, “Not gonna lie, she looks pretty fine…”

Disgusted, she couldn’t help but to sharply lift her head up towards the slimy guy. Only to quickly regret doing so, considering the fact that she immediately came face to face with a gaze that she had long swore to have never ever wanted to ever see again in her life.

Those sharp, jeering, painful dagger eyes of the girl she once called her best friend.

The girl, named Chrissy, laughed pompously, “Oh, we used to be the best of friends, Maxwell! We’d play house together, shop together, and look at boys together.” Chrissy’s gaze remained the same as it ever was in Firefly’s eyes, “We used to be inseparable, me and Firefly.”

“Keyword, used to be.” Firefly murmured under her breath. Her hands clenched at the hem of her skirt, her mind already running a mile a minute to find a way out of it.

She didn’t know, however, that Chrissy had more than spotted her abject desire to just get out of there.

The vile girl laughed once more.

“It’s such a shame…”

Chrissy leaned in closer to Firefly’s ear. Ignoring the distressed girl’s defiant gaze.

“…That she’s no longer around for me to keep as my lap dog.”

And just like that, Firefly felt as if she was thrown back into the throes of early middle school. During the time, where the people she had thought of to be friends decided to show her who they truly were.

People who thought of her as nothing but someone that they kept around to serve them.

“Ooof, always liked it when you use that sharp tongue of yours, Chrissy.” Another one of the leering boys popped his head in. His eyes clearly eyeing Firefly up and down, who couldn’t but to put her hands over her chest, “Say, you wouldn’t mind if I take her back with me right? Since you guys are best friends and all.”

His request simply elicited another maniacal laugh from the bully girl, “Oooh, this girl used to throw herself at any guy that I told her to get close to. She’s kind of easy that way, if you catch my drift?” Firefly flinched when Chrissy flicked a part of her bangs with a sharp thrust of her finger, “Sure, maybe you can finally get a chance to get laid for once in your life, haha!”

The group merely laughed in a manner that Firefly could only assimilate to the sound of multiple chalks unceremoniously dragged viciously across the chalkboard. Every bit of their laughter served as nothing more than an excuse for her body to shut down further.

The boy, who had been looking her up and down, cackled with finality.

“Then, don’t mind if I do!”

She could feel his arms getting closer, and Firefly could only prepare for the worst.

She hated how powerless she felt.

She hated how much control this absolute troll monger of a girl had over her.

But she can only sit there and pray to the Aeons that a miracle will occur in her favor.

Somebody, help me…

His hands were mere inches away from her.

Anyone!

“Oi, what are you bunch of bozos up to?”

Just like that, time seemed to have halted for everyone who surrounded her.

A part of her had thought that a teacher had probably seen what had been happening in this small area around the bench. But she highly doubted that any sort of teacher would ever freely refer to their students as a bunch of bozos. Plus, the voice that rang out had sounded closer to that of a teenage girl her age.

That being said, whoever it was clearly had some air of authority around her. Considering the fact that Chrissy’s voice became a far cry from how it had sounded just seconds ago.

“O-Oooh, nothing’s going on over here!”

Another one of the boys echoed out with the same smell of fear ladened in his voice, “Ye-Yeah, Stelle, we’re just talking to an old friend of Chrissy’s, that’s all!”

Whoever this ‘Stelle’ is, seemed to have approached their position. Firefly couldn’t really tell, as she kept her eyes glued to the ground.

“Really? By surrounding her like she’s gonna run away from all of you?”

Finally, Firefly gathered the courage to look up at her potential savior.

And she’d find it funny later on to admit, but even amongst all the stress that her heart had been enduring, her mind immediately emptied itself with nothing but one thought the moment she saw the figure who had parted the group. All after taking in the loosely gripped baseball bat over her shoulder, the untucked school shirt, the pleated skirt that ended just around her mid-thigh, and a gaze that would probably make any guy keel over in a snap of their finger.

By the Aeons, that is one tall girl…

Mighty beautiful as well.

Though Firefly couldn’t help but feel as if her face had looked oddly familiar, not to mention, that shade of silver hair.

However, her mind couldn’t really stay on that thought as she suddenly felt greasy arms linking around her neck. Her hands were automatically trying to pry that locking arm apart before that venomous voice filtered through her thoughts once more.

“Noooo, I assure you, Stelle, this is just an old friend of mine!” All her words had been laced with a thin line of deception that Firefly could only hope this person could see, “We’re just, uuh-, I mean-, I’m just introducing her to all my friends, and they’re all just sooo excited to meet her. Right, Firefly?”

Firefly remained wordless. At least, she wanted to, until the grip around her neck suddenly tightened.

She knew very well what all that had meant.

You better speak up, or else…

Well, Firefly wouldn’t dare to have someone completely unrelated to her predicament get involved for absolutely no reason.

So, she tried her best to sound as if everything had been alright.

“Th-They were my friends…” She tried her very best to emphasize that past-tense usage, “We were just… reconnecting.”

A brief glance towards the tall girl was enough for Firefly to know that she hadn’t been buying it.

Yet, there was really nothing else that the girl can do.

“Reconnecting, huh?” A scoff came out of the silver-haired girl, “Kinda weird fucking way to show it, honestly.”

Chrissy grinned deviously, “Yeaaah, this is just how we rekindle relationships back in our home town!” Firefly wanted to throw up at how close their faces are, “We just go a looong way back.”

Firefly just wanted to get this over with, so she let out a defeated sigh. Looking up weakly into Stelle’s eyes.

“It’s alright. I don’t want to keep you here for much longer.” She laid her hand at the top of Chrissy’s arm, “We’re just going to talk and we’ll be on our way.”

Nodding vigorously, Chrissy took full advantage of Firefly’s apparent surrender.

“Yeaah, so you can be on your way and-,”

“Stelle, fuck are you doing over there? The other girls are waiting for you!”

Now, it turns out that the Aeons hadn’t fully hated her.

Contrary to how Chrissy’s voice had been recognizable to the point of fear…

This one had managed to fill her being with so much hope that she thought her heart had swelled with the warmth that it immediately filled her with.

Her voice just reached out through pure reflex. Alongside the hope that her heart had not been wrong to have wanted to reach that voice so easily.

“Ca-Caelus?”

Recognizing that Firefly had actually known the voice behind her, Stelle wasted no time in moving out of the way. All to present the full view of the group of people that had gathered around the bench.

Caelus on the other hand, had long since identified that voice. Right as Stelle moved out of the way, he was already right in the midst of the group.

“Firefly…?”

Chrissy’s arm grip around Firefly immediately laid slack.

“…You-You know this girl, Caelus?” The moment she saw that gaze of recognition in his eyes, the girl took the chance to go on her nefarious schemes, “Of course you do, who doesn’t know the wonderful Firefly!” Her laughter turned into that of a disgustingly over familiar colleague who everyone actually hates, “Me and her? We go a looong way back, Caelus.”

While she went on her tangent, Firefly kept her eyes on Caelus. The world turned into nothing but a demure of silence. Not a single word was spoken between the two of them, yet the way they were searching one another’s gaze could’ve written history in of itself.

Caelus didn’t need to see further than the evident distress in her usually vibrant, iridescent purple.

Help me.

Slowly, it didn’t take long for Chrissy’s toxic notes to come filtering back through her senses.

But Caelus had long made up his mind.

“So, if you wanna hang out between all of us-,”

The moment Firefly saw that little bit of space to push her away, she took her chance.

And Caelus was not a millisecond late.

Before anyone could react, he took hold of Firefly’s arm and spared no time in pulling her out of Chrissy’s vexing grip, and onto his own protective one.

She sunk herself into his embrace. The world outside mattered no more to her.

I got you.

Though most of the group had stood there in shock, Chrissy wasn’t about to take the suddenness of Caelus’ actions lying down.

“W-Wait, what do you think you’re-,”

In a flash, Chrissy found herself face-to-face with Stelle instead, her towering frame immediately cautioning her steps. Her hand stood by readily on the tip of her bat.

“Get closer, and see what happens.” Stelle cracked her knuckles and said, “Go ahead, I dare you.”

No one in the group had the balls to move an inch of their hair. Quite the satisfactory result in Stelle’s eyes.

“That’s what I thought.”

Considering the threat in front of them, none dared to even look further beyond Stelle’s gaze.

Because had they did, they would have been met with Caelus’ utterly murderous ones.

Firefly on the other hand, didn’t really care about anything at that point.

She just kept relishing Caelus’ hold. Unwilling to feel anything but the protectiveness that he’s surrounding her with.

Eventually, the silence became too much for Stelle, who simply nudged the glaring boy with her bat. “Buddy, you’re gonna get charged for manslaughter just by fucking looking at them.” Pushing him off to the other side of the pathway, she urged him to go, “Let’s take her some place else. They’re not worth it.”

Caelus uttered nothing but a reluctant grunt. Yet, all semblance of his murderous gaze instantly disappeared the moment he tended to the girl, who just had her emotions torn apart. He didn’t waste any time and simply took her to a quieter corner of the fields.

The group had wanted to observe just that little bit more, but the sound of Stelle’s bat hitting the ground was enough of a signal for them to scurry away.

Once she was sure that they were a good distance away, she made haste to catch up to where Caelus had brought that poor girl.

When she got there, it was quite a weird sight for her to see Caelus, of all people, to be involved in.

That being said, she couldn’t help but to be impressed by how much the guy was tending to her. Even more so, the more she was able to hear his voice with a degree of softness that she had never before heard in her life.

“Hey, you alright?”

The girl simply nodded against his chest. Burying herself further into his embrace.

“I’m sorry you had to go through all that shit.”

His hands ran gently through her hair. Every stroke of his fingers a soothing remedy for her aching soul. It was odd how such a feeling had emanated from a person who just barely met a couple of months ago, yet she’s inclined to think that no other touch would’ve been able to heal her as well as his had done.

“S-Sorry… I should’ve told you that I was coming by.” Her voice had been dry and hoarse, and it had hurt Caelus to a point that he hadn’t quite expected.

“That’s nothing to apologize for.” He pulled back ever so slightly to get a better look at her face, “But, I’m kinda confused. Did I accidentally tell you to come today instead of Sunday? If it was, then my-,”

“No, no! You didn’t give me the wrong date.” She intercepted him before he could apologize. He had nothing to apologize for either way, “I just wanted to return this to you.”

Caelus watched intently as she rummaged through her bag for a brief moment, before pulling out his ID card out of her wallet.

“You dropped it in front of the store.” Her watery chuckle rang out alongside her attempts to calm her tears down, “Probably from when I accidentally ran into you with all those boxes…”

His eyes widened, prompting him to immediately reach for his own wallet, opening it only to realize that his school ID card had indeed been missing from its usual slot, “Damn, didn’t even notice that it was gone.” He gently took the card out of her fingers with a bright grin, “Thanks for the save. If only you didn’t have to go through that shitty thing with that skank of a bitch…”

She breathed out a shaky sigh of relief, “It’s… fine.”

“No, it wasn’t!” His hands rested tenderly on her shoulders, “Look, if you don’t wanna come by on Sunday, that’s totally fine as well! I’ll just stop by the shop-,”

Firefly placed her hands on his in an instant and calmly retorted, “It’s alright, Caelus. I can handle seeing her if I know that she’s going to be there beforehand.” She paused before continuing with a tinge of hesitancy, “Does she… come to watch you often?”

Before Caelus was able to reply, Stelle had decided to join in on the conversation.

“That girl has something of a rabid obsession with this guy. Always the craziest one among the bunch of his simps.” She casually slapped the back of Caelus’ head, “Not that I know why anyone would go crazy for this weirdo…”

The boy sniggered loudly, “You’re one to talk…” He lightly kicked at her leg in halfhearted retaliation, “My fans aren’t the ones who’d go batshit insane and slobber like dogs whenever they get their hands on any of your foul balls.

Stelle merely shrugged, noticeably unbothered.

“Whatever, donkey face.”

“Fucking ass wipe.”

Firefly watched on with amusement as the two traded blows between one another, before she found the timing to finally ask out, “Sorry to interrupt… whatever this is,” She said, gently stepping out of Caelus’ hold to address the taller girl, “But I haven’t thanked you for your help back then, and I haven’t really introduced myself…”

Waving her concerns off, a thin smile fettered itself on Stelle’s lips, “Don’t sweat it. Was just glad to be a bit of help.” She then nodded towards Caelus with an expectant look, “Besides, it should be this doofus’ job to introduce us to one another.”

“What, can’t handle a bit of socialization by yourself, huh?”

His jab was followed by a sharp hiss of pain as Stelle opted to smack his knee with her bat instead, “Alright, fine, fine! Goddamn…”

The two girls spared a glance between one another before respectively chuckling. Caelus was simply deadpanning as he cleared his throat and regained his bearings.

“Anyways…”

He gestured between each of the girls, firstly addressing Firefly.

“Firefly, this is my twin sister, Stelle.” He then motioned towards Firefly whilst averting his gaze to Stelle, “Stelle, this is Firefly. You know, the girl who’s shop I’ve been visiting recently?”

At the reminder of the name, Stelle lit up, “Oooh, you’re the flower girl!” She clasped her fist and smacked it on her open palm, “I could’ve sworn I heard your name before when that rabid girl mentioned it.” Offering her a fist bump, Stelle chuckled momentously, “Nice to meet ya! Like he said, the name’s Stelle. I’m this idiot’s older sister.”

“Younger sister. I was born three minutes earlier.” Caelus corrected. “Stop trying to convince others that you’re the older one, stupid.”

“Whatever, old man.”

Firefly, on the other hand, had to take a bit of time to process the connection. Everything finally falling into place every since the moment she saw Stelle and all the rush of familiarity that she got from just a simple glance, all made that much more sense.

“I knew there was something familiar about you!” She giggled at the thought of her previous musings, pointing at the silver-haired girl while flashing a teasing look towards Caelus, “So, this is the ‘ugly ogre of a sister’ that you’re always talking about.”

In a flash, Stelle went dead silent. Firefly could’ve sworn that she could hear the creaking of her neck as her eyes were set ablaze with a deadly underlying fire beneath her gaze. Her hands shot straight towards Caelus head, who had no time to dodge the death grip that his hair is now at the mercy of.

“OW-, OWW!”

“I’m a what now? You little prick.”

“Fuck off!” Caelus retaliated by kicking at her legs once more, “You’ve had far worse nicknames than that!”

Ruminating at the validity of his statement, Stelle decided to let go without much more of a fight, “Huh, fair enough.” She shrugged before looking back towards Firefly, “Guess that’s me then. Your resident ugly ogre of a sister.”

“On the contrary, I think you look stunning.” Firefly marveled at the overall style that the taller girl had presented herself in, “I can’t imagine how much more beautiful you would look if you were to wear one of those wondrous boutique dresses.”

A light pause permeated her words before Stelle smacked Caelus once more, following it up with a vice grip on his ear, “See, take some fucking pointers from her, you sack of dung.” Her tone turned mischievous, “Maybe you’d actually get yourself a girlfriend if you can say half the things that she just said.” She stole a quick glance towards Firefly, “Hell, maybe you’d finally get her to be interested in your sorry ass!”

Firefly almost choked, “Uhm-, Uhh… Ex-Excuse me?”

“Never mind.” Stelle swiftly dismissed her previous notion, “Just telling my ancient brother to get his shit together.”

Caelus had been rather nonchalant at the sight of all the abuse. His sister’s grip seemed as if it hadn’t been doing much to bother him, “Ignore her. She just likes to talk a dick ton of trash sometimes.”

“Hey, I’ll have you know-,”

“Stelle, the coach’s looking for you!”

A voice from across the field called out to the younger twin, who promptly released the grip she had on Caelus’ ear.

“Welp, guess that’s my cue. Gonna have to bounce for now.” Offering another fist bump, Stelle flashed her a grin, “It’s nice talking to ya. Excuse my brother if he’s a bit slow on the uptake, but I can at least vouch for the fact that he’s not a creepy dude.”

Caelus scoffed, “Wow, thanks-,”

“Shut your face.”

And there goes his sarcastic words of gratitude.

Firefly giggled at their interaction, enjoying every bit of humor that the two had bounced between one another, “It’s been nice talking with you too. Thanks again for the save back then.” She then replied with a fist bump in kind, “You really helped me out there…”

“Like I said, don’t sweat it.” Stelle said, musing to herself, followed by her eyes lighting up, “Tell you what, I’ll be your escort for his game on Sunday, how bout that?” Puffing her chest with pride, Stelle continued, “With me around, those numbskulls wouldn’t dare to even look at you.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t to impose-,”

Stelle stopped her before she could say any more, “Impose, shcmepose… don’t worry about it.” She pointed at Caelus with her thumb, “I’ll get him to give me the deets on your flowers store, and I’ll pick you up from there – sounds like a deal?”

“Umm…”

Truth be told, Firefly had no idea what to say. But seeing as Caelus simply nodded for her to take the offer, Firely saw no reason not to indulge in such a proposition.

“Then… I’ll be in your care.”

“That’s settled, then. I’ll be in contact soon.” Stelle flashed a two-finger salute, “I’ll see you two cuckoos later!”

Firefly waved her goodbye, “See you, and thank you once again!”

Right before she made her final steps to leave, Stelle made sure to pause right beside her brother, who merely looked at her curiously.

“What?”

Stelle did nothing, other than to lean closer with a hand on his shoulder.

“I approve.” Leaving him with a sly wink, “Go get em’, tiger.”

And right as Caelus was about to respond, she was quick to bounce away towards the other side of the field. Leaving him behind with only an amused smirk on his lips.

“She’s quite the character, huh?”

He turned around to fully face Firefly once more, who finally seemed to have calmed down from the whole fiasco from before. Though, there were still traces of her dried tears that ran down one side of her cheek.

With no hesitation, he closed the gap between them and promptly reached out to wipe the remnants of her tears. He hummed in satisfaction once all traces were gone from her now-cheery features.

“Umm, about what happened earlier.” Firefly began saying as she shuffled her feet, “It’s kind of a long story, but-,”

Suddenly, she found herself pulled into his hold. His warmth once again enveloped her being with that feeling of comfort she had sorely needed from the previous encounter.

“You don’t have to talk about it now.” His voice was calming. Assuring her that there was no need to revisit an old wound before she could properly face it, “That shit must’ve hurt. Just calm down, and we can save this conversation for some other time.”

Firefly looked up to his careful gaze, “And when will that be?”

“Hmm…” Caelus thought for a moment, “Maybe after my game on Sunday?”

Despite the day’s events, Firefly couldn’t help but to genuinely smile. The fact that he understood that she might not be ready to reopen such wounds was enough of an assurance for her to be patient in facing her past. And at the very least, she knew that there was someone who would be willing to listen to her grievances, should it come time for her to air them all out.

What more can she ask for?

So, she simply smiled in kind.

“Sounds like a deal!”

Sunday couldn’t have come a lot faster for Firefly. After a brief exchange of texts with Stelle, she was about ready to meet the girl as she picked her up from the shop. Her grandmother had been buzzing with excitement, seeing her granddaughter all dressed for a type of outing that she rarely gets to see her go on.

That being said, when the bells of the shop rang out, Firefly was greeted with a view that she hadn’t quite expected.

Stelle had been dressed in her school jersey and a pair of jeans, that was a sight that Firefly had been expecting.

However, the silver-haired girl had not come all by her lonesome. An elegantly dressed, fiery red-haired woman, stood graciously beside her. The pair gloriously outshined everything and everyone that the shop had to offer, whilst every pair of eyes in shop were promptly distracted by their presence.

Walking to the counter, Stelle greeted Firefly with the same thin smile that she always wore.

“Sorry bout’ the slight change-up…” The younger twin gestured towards the other woman, who was now busying herself with the flowers near the entrance, “But my mom decided to tag along with us.”

Honestly, Firefly could only balk with a low whisper to boot.

“That’s your mother?”

The room itself was still stun-locked by the sudden appearance of the two beauties.

It was only when Melinda stepped out of the storage room that the room finally found its voice once more.

“Ah, Miss Himeko! It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”

Chapter Text

Firefly couldn’t really understand how her morning developed the way it did. The mere premise of going to Caelus’ football game alongside his sister was already somewhat weird enough, but she couldn’t exactly pinpoint how to feel when she’d found herself in a car with Stelle, alongside her mother of all people, cheerily handling the wheel.

Though she made sure to choose her best dress, overcoat, and accessories, she felt just as out of place as when she had made that impromptuous visit to the Academy of Preservation.

“So, you’re the Firefly that Caelus has been raving about for the past couple of months.” The redhead woman called out excitedly, her apologetic gaze reflected on the rear-view mirror, “I’m sorry for the sudden change of plans, dear… Caelus wanted to pick you up himself, but his coach called him in early for some extra warmup before the match.” She smiled sweetly, “I hope you don’t mind this mother of his picking you up instead!”

Bowing her head, Firefly quickly replied, “N-Not at all, ma’am. I’m the one who’s in fact sorry for troubling you in such an early time of the day.”

“Oh, don’t be… I had to take Stelle there anyway.” Himeko waved away her apologies, “Besides, it’s been a long time since I visited the Garden. It’s great to see that your grandmother is still doing really well! She hardly changed this past decade, huh?”

At the mention of her grandma, Firefly grinned brightly, “She’s still very young at heart, that’s for sure. Though, I’m more surprised that you’ve actually been acquainted with her and our store beforehand…” Her head tilted curiously, “Did you use to frequent our shop? Grandma did say that you were an old customer.”

Himeko paused for a moment, before looking up at the intersection, “Ah, I can tell you more about that later on…” She turned the car into the coming parking lot, “Since we’re here, we can catch up with Caelus and see how his match is going first.”

Due to the confusion of how quickly her morning had changed, she didn’t even have the time to realize that they were already that close to the Academy. The football field loomed over the horizon of the parking lot, and Firefly could begin to see the players bustling about around one another. The football itself haphazardly being strewn around the field as both sides fought to keep it under their possession.

Stepping out of the car, Firefly held the bright yellow mini-bouquet that she’d assembled earlier, and clutched it closer to her chest. As much as she had tried to forget about the events of the week, she couldn’t exactly stop her heart from pounding anxiously.

Especially when her eyes caught sight of the not-insignificant size of the crowd that she could only assume were the spectators of the friendly match. She can only hope that she could avoid meeting that particular person, but considering her luck these days, she wouldn’t exactly bank her house on it not happening.

She must’ve had her emotions on her sleeve, because not a moment before she started trying to calm herself down, a confident hand had found itself on her shoulder. Her eyes immediately found itself staring at Stelle’s bright amber orbs.

“Relax, you look way too intense for someone who’s only here to watch a football game.” The ashen-haired girl pointed to herself, “That blonde harpy won’t get anywhere near you. Caelus would rage at me and mom if she even gets to look at you.”

Though Firefly wouldn’t doubt that, considering he was ready to spell business just with his gaze the last time they encountered her bully, Firefly still had to ask, “H-He would rage at you guys?”

This time, Himeko stepped to their side of the car, “Haha, don’t fret over it, dear. It’s just that we promised him to keep a close eye on you.” She said solemnly, a wink proceeding her words, “That being said, we have no intentions of letting him down. He rarely takes an interest in a lady, much less inviting one to watch his game.”

Honestly, Firefly has no idea what to say other than to try and prevent the heat from creeping further up her cheeks, “I-Is that so…?” She ducked her head down once again, “I’m really sorry for the trouble…”

Stelle gave her a hearty smack on her shoulder, “Like my mom said, don’t be! Don’t tell him I said this, but the guy’s lookin’ happier than he’s ever been.” She began leading her to walk in line together with Himeko, “And we kinda knew that it was all thanks to you. It drives me nuts having to hear about your flower shop every other day, but it’s more cause the guy can’t stop yapping about you.”

Heading into the establishment, Himeko echoed Stelle’s sentiment, “She’s right, Firefly. Caelus isn’t exactly the brooding type, but definitely hides more of what he feels compared to this firecracker over here.”

Himeko playfully tussled Stelle’s hair, much to the teenager’s protest.

“Mooom, my hair!” Frantically putting her hair back in place, Stelle pouted with a look of mock annoyance, “Just for that, I’m gonna go ahead first!”

“Oh, hush now… Dan Heng wouldn’t mind seeing you with a more natural look!” The woman playfully teased, watching her daughter run off to the football field ahead, before looking back towards Firefly, “So, with all due consideration, we’re truly grateful for your presence. And you’ve been nothing short but lovely in this short time of getting to know you, so we can rest easy in knowing that you truly are a wonderful girl.”

Being the clerk at a flower shop frequented by the elderly, Firefly thought that she had grown immune to complimentary words suddenly being thrown at her. But, with how sincerely Himeko had delivered her gratitude, Firefly still couldn’t make it past stammering her first few words.

“Y-You’re too kind, Ms. Himeko…”

“Oh, none of that Miss with you… Just call me Himeko.” The redhead gently urged, her voice then growing softer than before, “I wouldn’t dare to have Kaira and Yevlin’s only daughter call me anything other than my own name.”

Firefly merely laughed, her brain still yet to catch up with what Himeko had really said.

“Haha, that’s…”

Before realization hit her.

“W-Wait, Kaira and Yevlin… those are my parents name!” She immediately halted her steps, eyes wide with bewilderment, “You… You knew my parents?”

Himeko hummed melancholically, a soft nod to follow, “We used to work at the same research firm back at Pier Point. Both your mom and I started out together as interns, while Yevlin worked alongside my husband as seniors.” She gazed ahead wistfully, “We were pretty close, even when your parents decided to move here to Penacony, we still kept in touch.” Himeko sighed before she forlornly looked at Firefly, “I was devastated when I heard about their accident. I’m sorry that it ended up that way, so early in your life as well…”

“Thank you… It’s quite rare for me to meet anyone who actually knew anything about my parents.” Firefly smiled solemnly, though a shiny crinkle found itself into her eyes, “I’m sorry, but I can’t really remember if my parents had ever talked about you, or if we’ve really ever met…”

Nodding with understanding, Himeko’s gaze softened further, “I wouldn’t be surprised… The only time I’ve ever seen you was just a couple of days after you were born.” A reminiscent tone overtook her words, “Both my husband and I had been so busy in the years after, we didn’t really get a chance to properly meet. It’s great to see that you’ve grown so wonderfully.”

“Oh, you’re too kind, Ms-,”

A soft, yet pointed look was enough for Firefly to halt her sentence.

“-I mean, you’re too kind, Himeko. It’s all thanks to my grandma that I was able to have the life I have.” Her voice grew warm, and so did her heart, “Even with my parents gone, I never really felt like I was lacking anything growing up.”

She couldn’t help but to suddenly gasp when she felt Himeko’s hand pat her on the head.

“I’m sure it was tough either way. Ruth is an exceptional figure, and she probably had wished for your parents to have seen you grow.” Himeko’s hand moved from Firefly’s head to her shoulder, “Now that we are better acquainted, please don’t hesitate to ask me for anything you might need in the future. You’re essentially my goddaughter, and it’s the least I can do to honor Kaira and Yevlin’s memories.”

Firefly raised her hand with trepidation, “Oh no, that’s definitely too much-,”

“Take it as an exchange for taking care of Caelus.” The redhead flashed a wink alongside her statement, “I’m sure you’d be doing a lot for him from here on out. So, take it as me repaying you ahead of time.”

Himeko playfully nudged the growingly blushing girl.

“Besides, it’s never a bad idea to get to know my future potential daughter-in-law this early on, don’t you think?”

Well, if Firefly wasn’t blushing before, then she is most certainly blushing now.

“I… I’m, just a really good friend of his…”

A knowing look took over Himeko’s gaze, “That’s what the proper ones normally say. But I’ll let Caelus show his hands soon enough.” She nodded ahead, encouraging Firefly to take her eyes up off the pavement below, “Speaking of, look who we’ve got up ahead.”

Sparing a glance at Himeko, Firefly observed her gaze before making the move to look towards the direction of her orbs, only to be greeted with the sight of all those football players that she had seen from afar, now basically just a couple of meters away from her.

Just as she looked up, the breeze that she felt from the players running past her was enough to further bring her back to her senses. Even during what people of Penacony could call as a rather frigid day, the sensation of sweat mixed with the low burn of the still dimming sun was as strong as ever to Firefly’s nose.

“Ho…, these kids are really going at it. And here I thought it was just a friendly…” Himeko pointed towards an area closer to what Firefly could only assume as their academy’s team bench, “Let’s get closer to the bench, there’s someone that I want you to meet there.”

Though Firefly nodded and silently followed Himeko’s footsteps, her gaze remained fixated on the match ahead of her. She didn’t quite understand how football works in its entirety, but she knew enough to comprehend which team is currently on which side of the field.

She also took the time to scout the field and look for that ever familiar ashen-haired boy. Thankfully, due to said unique hair color, it really didn’t take her too much time to eventually spot him amongst the other twenty or so boys that are running rampant around the field. His figure darted in and out of the wings of the field as he swiftly weaved between his opponents to receive and link the play of the ball up with his teammates.

Firefly couldn’t help but to smile ardently at the sight of his serious demeanor. She’d always see him with such a carefree look on his face, it’s a rather funny sensation to see this side of him for the first time.

Keep at it, Caelus!

Her grip on the flowers in her hands strengthened ever so-slightly while she could only whisper those words of encouragement under her breath, not wanting to attract any extra attention when she had just arrived at the field.

“Oh, Aeons… I should’ve seen this coming.”

Himeko’s tone of exasperation filtered through Firefly’s senses, and for a split second, she thought that Himeko had been talking about her. Her split fritz of panic was then quelled the moment she looked at the small crowd of what Firefly could only assume to be a mix of young and middle-aged women. All of them seemed to be crowding around one lone figure who stood haplessly amongst all their prowling gazes.

Halting her steps besides Himeko’s, Firefly gingerly asked, “Do you happen to know the person that they’re all crowding?”

“Well… for one, that person is supposed to be the deterrent who was meant to keep all the troublemakers away from you, so you can peacefully watch Caelus and his game.” A sigh escaped Himeko, her hand running through her hair in thought, “But I forgot to account for the fact that he’s not exactly great at being a deterrent for his own sake…”

Humming in amusement, Firefly could only keep silent as she watched Himeko’s steps with intrigue. The buzz around the person, who Firefly can now discern to be a man, slowly filtering into her ears.

“Are you free after this game?”

“Say, I haven’t seen you around here often… Would you like a tour of the facilities?”

“Are you one of the coach’s friends? I’ll have him introduce me to you after this!”

Yikes.

Firefly knew that this segment of the female demographic certainly existed, thanks in part to the myriad few of them who would often pompously show up in her shop, but this just takes that image to a whole other level in Firefly’s eyes. Regardless of who that man is, she’d wager that no one will stand a chance against this pack of hounds. Circling their prey with no mercy in sight.

But Himeko’s sharp voice suddenly sought to prove her wrong.

With one clearance of her throat, her words pierced through the veil of female clamoring without trouble.

“Excuse me, apologies for the interjection.”

What was once a buzz suddenly dissipated into nothingness. Himeko’s towering figure among the ladies, and her general presence were enough to silence them into attention.

“But what sort of business might you fine ladies have with my husband?”

The white noise of silence grew amongst the surprised gasps. While some of them immediately slinked away, like hyenas, knowing for a fact that they were no match for a lion, some of them still had that little bit of pride that they wanted to show. Evident from the slight murmurs that some of them would mutter as they reluctantly and unceremoniously bowed out in a hesitant apology.

“S-Sorry, we were just asking around…”

“Tch, yeah right, am I gonna try and go against that…”

“I thought the ring was just for show…”

Despite her disbelief at the audacity of some of those ladies, and the surprise at the revelation that the man had indeed been Himeko’s husband, or in other words, Caelus’ father…

She knew for a fact that she was impressed at the air of authority that Himeko held, as a single sentence was enough to send those pack of glowering eyes up and away from their prey.

After making sure that those ladies were indeed walking away, Himeko’s glower faded, and she sighed as she approached her relieved husband. A look of both tacit concern and a degree of acceptance ladened in her eyes, “I thought we’ve established a protocol for when these sorts of things happen, hun?”

The man himself could only let out a thin, apologetic smile, “I’d say that we might have to look at those protocols with a bit of scrutiny.” He lifted his hand, showcasing the positively radiant band on his ring finger, “Presenting them with marital evidence seemed to have been a mute solution for this particular occasion.”

Another bout of exhalations made its way out of Himeko, “It’s probably an issue with the execution. That protocol works flawlessly when I’m the one who employs them.” Her hands quickly made their way round his shoulders, face, and hair, “They didn’t do anything to you, right? I’ve got the molecular saw ready in the car-,”

“Haha, that won’t be necessary, Himeko.” He quickly calmed her down with a hold on her searching hand, and a swift peck on her hair, “I’m fine. They didn’t do anything to me.”

She pouted for just a split second, before relenting all the same, “Fine… I’ll let them off the hook for now…”

While the man gazed fondly at his wife, his gaze took notice of the teenager who can only be described as standing there and simply being… awestricken.

“Oh, and who do we have here?”

The realization that she’d been neglecting the young lady behind her quickly brought Himeko back to her senses, “Oh, right! Sorry dear, I almost forgot that you were waiting on me.”

Firefly timidly replied, “T-That’s alright! I was just admiring how you two look next to each other anyway…” Her eyes glimmered with adoration, “I’m sorry if this is completely out of the blue, but you both look like quite mesmerizing when you’re together like this…”

Himeko practically beamed after hearing those words, staring at her husband with a knowing look, “Hear that, Welt? She said that we looked mesmerizing together.”

The brunet simply chuckled, “Well, that’s one way of winning over your heart, Himeko.” Fixing the positioning of his glasses, he promptly extended his open hand, “The name’s Joachim. Though, as you’ve just heard, please feel free to call me Welt.”

Firefly quickly rushed forward to meet his open hand, “It’s nice to meet you, umm… Welt…” She corrected herself before Himeko was able to urge her to skip the honorifics, “My name is-,”

“Firefly, isn’t it? I’ve heard about you from everyone else. It’s great to finally be acquainted with Yevlin and Kaira’s daughter.” A similar look of recollection flew by Welt’s features, “It’s shame that they can’t be here to witness this themselves, but it’s good to finally have a chance to uphold our promises to them.”

Smiling at how similar both he and Himeko had presented themselves, Firefly couldn’t help but to duck her head once more, “You both are really too kind…”

“It’s nothing, really. Not only are you essentially our goddaughter, but you have taken great care of Caelus over the past months.” Welt smiled loosely, “I do apologize if he has caused you trouble in any way-,”

Before Welt had the chance to finish his unnecessary apology, Firefly interjected, “Not at all! In fact, I’ve had a lot to thank him for as well…” Her lips sweetly curled in recollection of the past couple of months, “He’s not only been a great friend, but he’s also been of great help to the shop as well! My grandma and all her regulars practically adore him, and they never stopped asking me if he was going to stop by for the day.”

Welt and Himeko could do nothing but let the girl speak as she seemingly went through the memories of her heart. Both of them sparing a quick glance at each other before Firefly continued talking.

“I can assure you that he’s been nothing but kind, and he’s been an absolute joy to be around!” She grinned freely for the first time that day, “Thank you for allowing him to visit the shop as often as he does, and thank you for raising such a great son!”

Her last sentence seemed to have sent the both of them into a state of sudden suspension. Their gazes and expressions frozen for a good few seconds before Welt chuckled once more, shooting Himeko a look of wonder.

“You weren’t exaggerating when you mentioned that she’s sweet to the core.”

“You know better than anyone that I tell it as it is.” Himeko swiftly shot back, “Makes you wonder what our son is doing, dragging his feet around her…”

Firefly stared at them owlishly, “W-What do you mean by-,”

The piercing of the whistle immediately shot threw the field and its surroundings. Immediately grabbing the attention of both the players and spectators alike.

“Ah, and that would be the halftime whistle…” Welt surmised.

Walking up to the distracted Firefly, Himeko opened up her hands and gestured towards the flowers she’d been holding, “Why don’t I hold that for you?” She nodded in the direction of the academy’s bench in response to Firefly’s quizzical gaze, “You can go ahead and say hi to Caelus. These breaks last for quite a bit, so you guys have some ample time to catch up.”

Flitting her gaze between the flowers and Himeko’s hands, Firefly promptly placed the flowers in her care with a gentle motion, “T-Then I’ll trouble you for a bit!”

“It’s no trouble at all… Oh, and bring this instead,” Himeko handed her a comfy towel, before reassuring the florist as she kept the flowers in her care, then nodding towards the ashen haired boy who sat at the corner of their team bay, “Go on now.”

Forgetting to even question why Himeko had handed her a towel and smiling in reply, Firefly swiftly turned to slowly make her way towards the team bench, while Himeko watched on with a beaming grin as Welt made his way next to her.

“Hmph… I’m impressed. Turns out you weren’t joking when you bet that innocent souls like hers still exist in this world.”

Linking her free arms around Welt, Himeko smiled victoriously, “Since it’s my win, does that mean we’re going to have that date you promised after this?”

Welt’s thin smile curled with a knowing slant, “Regardless of today’s outcome, I think you would’ve found a way to make that a reality.”

The two laughed in unison, before turning their distant attention back towards the girl who’s gingerly approaching the bench area of their academy’s team.

On the other hand, said girl was trying her best to both draw their son’s attention towards herself, whilst also desperately trying to make sure that she wasn’t garnering the attention of someone else from the team instead. Which somewhat placed her in this weird dilemma of a situation where she both wanted to do something mildly noticeable, only to have it be quelled by her anxiousness of drawing unnecessary attention.

However, she had long drawn that kind of “unnecessary attention”, when she had approached the field alongside Himeko and Welt. The eyes of the Academy’s coach had also observed her with idle curiosity as he mulled around the possibilities of her identity.

That ain’t Stelle, and I sure as hell would know if Caelus had another sister…

His eyes then lit up in realization. If there was ever a situation where a girl had come along with somebody else’s parents and they were neither relative nor a student from the school, then it could only mean one thing…

The coach wasted no time looking for his ever-trusty wing player, who was busy fighting his fatigue at the other end of the team bay. Still blissfully unaware of the hopeful gaze that settled itself on him, from the girl that was just meters away from him.

He cast a light whistle, “Oi, Mr. Angst McBroody!” His reliable nickname for the teenager immediately caught his attention.

Caelus stood, and was just about ready to jog towards him, “Wassup, coach-,”

With a light nod in the general direction of where the girl had stood, he made Caelus halt his steps.

“Your girl’s here!”

A look of perplexion swiftly overtook Caelus’ features, “My what now-,”

Though the moment he looked towards where his coach had nodded, his questioning gaze instantly ceased its existence, and his eyes focused on nothing but the shy gaze that the timidly waving silver-haired girl had shown him.

Not even his teammate’s bewildered questions and murmurs were able to stop him from surging past them and beelining his way towards her waiting self.

“F-Firefly!” Gone was the fatigue that was plaguing his recovery, and his breathlessness was a thing of the past the moment he came face-to-face with her, “You made it! Sorry bout’ the mix up earlier, the coach-,”

“Called you in early for some extra prep, right?” Firefly finished his sentence with ease, a knowing giggle following suit, “It’s alright. Himeko was kind enough to drive me and Stelle here. Your mother is incredibly nice, and so is your father.”

“O-Oh, so you’ve met them…”

He looked up to scan for his parents, who had invariably been watching their interaction from afar. The moment their eyes made contact, Caelus just about got half a wave off before Himeko dramatically hugged Welt, immediately following it up with an exaggerated pointing motion towards Firefly.

It didn’t take long for Caelus to put two and two together. His face bloomed to a perfect medium rare in a flash.

This woman…

Though he wasn’t entirely opposed to the thought of that, he had one excuse primed and ready to potentially veer himself away from what his mother had wanted him to do.

While his brain churned at the prospect of his excuse, his arm lay pathetically still in a hesitant motion caused by one side of him that had indeed wanted to embrace her, and one side of him that was still clinging on to his excuse.

Of course, Firefly wasn’t one to miss the sudden silence and the awkward stance.

“Umm, are you okay?” She then noticed the change of color in his expression, “You look kind of red… have you drank enough water?”

“N-No, yeah… I mean-, that’s not it…”

Realizing that his mind was clearly elsewhere, Firefly waited until he was able to get his words straight.

“Like, I would totally give you a hug right now…” He then looked down towards his drenched jersey and body, “But I’ve just been sweating buckets, and I kinda smell like ass at the moment…”

Right, like hell was Firefly expecting him to blurt that out of nowhere.

“Uuuh… right…”

The two merely stood awkwardly for another few seconds, before Firefly realized that she was no longer holding her mini-bouquet of flowers in her hands.

And just like that, she was quick to marvel at Himeko’s foresight once more.

Slowly, she motioned for Caelus to come closer, “Then… how bout’ we do this?”

He tentatively followed her lead. His gaze clearly trying to deduce what it is that she has in mind, only for him to simply stare as she pointed towards his head, or more specifically, his hair.

“Let your head down a bit.”

And so, he obliged.

Just a moment after he ducked down, he felt the soft sensation of the towel making its way around his hair. Ridding it off the excess liquid that persists after his initial half of football, while he could only begin to lose himself in the gentle prodding and weaving of her fingertips. Her digits worked their way flawlessly around his grey strands, as if they had been familiar with its paths all along.

From his hair, the fabric moved seamlessly to his face, gently maneuvering between wipes and dabs to prevent its movement from accidentally irritating his skin instead, before making a swift round through the circumference of his neck, and finishing its movement with a light flap of its surface area. The light burst of a breeze that it induced, capping off an expertly done cleanse of his features.

He couldn’t help but to smile.

“Thanks…”

Instead of replying, Firefly made a move to place the side of the towel that she hadn’t used on him, across her arms and shoulders, forming a perfect cover for that area whilst she nudged her chin towards her open stance.

“Well, it wouldn’t feel too bad to hug me now, right?”

Caelus blinked once, then blinked twice. His eyes veered towards the general direction of where his mother had been, and he somewhat wished that he hadn’t hesitated.

Because Himeko had a death grip on Welt, and her eyes practically would’ve lasered him flat into the ground had it actually possessed the ability to do so.

IF YOU DON’T HUG HER THIS INSTANT, THEN YOU WILL BE A VERY DEAD BOY ONCE YOU GET HOME, YOUNG MAN!

Sometimes, Caelus wasn’t sure if he’d be more scared of an Aeon or his mother.

But at the very least, he knew what to do to scurry around his mother’s wrath.

A slight chuckle escaped him, before he shifted closer to her awaiting hold.

“Don’t mind if I do then…”

Just half a step was needed to close the distance between them, and he relished at the warmth that she had so easily provided him with. A part of him wanted to thank nature for being as frigid as it had been that morning, because her hug had probably felt ten times better than how it would have been in a sweltering day.

Firefly cheerily snugged herself into the crook of his neck. Finding that his concerns of bodily odor were rather unfounded considering he smelt rather nice for someone who’d practically been throwing himself around a field for the better part of the last fifty minutes or so.

Just like how he had held her just those couple of days ago, his embrace now felt far sweeter under circumstances that were far more towards her preference. Now that her mind wasn’t going haywire with panic, she was able to take in his hold and truly appreciate it for everything that it had made her feel.

Warm and secure.

His arms snaked protectively around her shoulders, whilst hers found its way round and under his own. The two of them squeezed that little bit tighter for a split second, before, with internal reluctance on both parties going unheard, finally getting that little bit of distance between them.

It was another mere half a step, but it was distance regardless for the two of them.

“You look like you were having a ton of fun out there.” Firefly’s giggles, to her lack of knowledge, were that of a melodious harmony to the ashen-haired teen’s ears, “How’s it been going so far? I hope you’re not pushing yourself too hard…”

Unconsciously, their hands had slipped into the confines of one another, yet neither were even remotely interested in moving away from the hold they have on one another.

“Tell me bout’ it. The coach was even more relentless today… Granted, these guys were our closest rivals from last season.” He groaned as he took a gander at cracking his neck, “He moved me up and down the wings a couple of times already. I don’t even know if I’m gonna be defending or attacking in the next minute.”

Brushing her thumb over the crux of his fingers, she smiled radiantly at him, “Well, I’m sure that just means he’s putting a lot of trust in you.”

Caelus scoffed, “Or he’s secretly a sadist.” His gaze flickered with a teensy bit of wonder, “At this point, I wouldn’t even put it past him for being one.”

Chuckling at his deduction, Firefly felt comfort at the topic of his coach. It was never one that he would miss out on complaining about whenever he had visited the shop after one of his practice sessions, so to see it in full force was just another level of amusement for Firefly.

“How about your morning?” Caelus then asked, “I haven’t thanked your grandma for letting you have the day off. Hope that it hasn’t caused her any trouble for the shop today…”

Firefly was quick to shake her head, “Don’t worry! She planned on closing midday from the beginning anyway. Her favorite opera is playing in the theaters today, so she’s gonna go with a bunch of friends to watch.” Her eyes sparkled with genuine radiance, “All in all, the timing was rather perfect for today.”

As they kept their conversation going, neither were oblivious to the fact that they were starting to attract some funny eyes from both the crowd that had previously gathered before her arrival, and a lot of beady and mischievous ones that had come from his teammates.

Internally, Caelus wanted to shoo their gazes away, considering the fact that it was clear that Firefly was starting to fidget due to the attention. Her twirling fingers around his own was enough of a sign for him.

Thankfully, his rescue came in the best form he could’ve thought of.

“Right, folks. Eyes away! You’re making them uncomfortable.” A commanding voice rang past Caelus’ side, “The coach’s not done with you guys anyway, pay attention to him!”

A girl’s voice, equally as commanding, followed suit. With a writing board in her hand, the silver-haired girl clicked her pen to point back towards the coach. “You heard the captain, focus up, guys!”

Though murmurs of complaints were evident from both camps, both the crowd, and more importantly, his teammates obeyed and tore their eyes off of their “entertainment.” A sigh of relief found its way out of Caelus as he spared a glance towards the approaching blonde beside him.

“Thanks for the save, Gepster.”

The towering blonde placed a friendly hand on his shoulder, an understanding smile ladened on his lips, “Just returning the old favor, friend. It’s rare to see you willingly cozy up with a girl anyway, so it’s best if the others don’t meddle in.” The blonde ducked his head towards Firefly, “Sorry about those guys. They get a little too excited at the fact that our superstar winger’s finally paying someone special attention.”

“I-It’s alright… I’m sure that it was all in good fun.” Firefly replied with a chuckle. Though she couldn’t exactly hide the blush permeating her cheeks.

Relieved at the sight of Firefly relaxing once more, Caelus turned to present the blonde, “Firefly, this guy’s name is Gepard. He’s the captain of the team.” He then gestured towards her, “And Gepard, this is Firefly…”

“So, I’ve heard…” Gepard extended a hand that Firefly promptly shook with a gentle grace, “This guy never stays quite about you and that flower shop of yours. It’s always, ‘oh, gotta bounce, I’m late to go to the flower shop’ or something along the lines of that…”

Caelus quickly grasped at the blonde’s head, “Oi, I appreciate the save and all, but that doesn’t mean you get to just spout some bullshit, alright?” He brought the chuckling blonde’s face closer to him, “You don’t wanna be bald by the end of this whole shit, right?”

Unperturbed, Gepard merely flailed his arms in a mocking manner, “Ooooh, that certainly is a terrifying threat.”

Firefly simply watched on with amusement as the two began playfully jabbing one another, before she couldn’t help but to be reminded of the fact that this familiar scene had certainly played out beforehand.

“The two of you seem to be such good friends…” Firefly freely commented, “But just like with Stelle, you have a weird way of showing it, Caelus.”

“Oh, I don’t think I’m at that level just yet. The kinds of things those two blockheads do are beyond the rest of us.” Gepard replied all whilst being dragged into a headlock by the distracted Caelus, “That being said, despite the more than occasional idiocy, I’ll admit that he’s a good guy, and an even better friend.”

Maintaining his grip on the headlock, Caelus looked at the blonde incredulously, “I’m getting some serious mixed messages here man.”

“Well, I’m sure that brain of yours would figure it out in due time…”

“Oho, getting smart now-,”

From a distance, the same voice that had accompanied Gepard when they commanded the team called out towards them.

“Caelus, let go of Gepard for a bit, I need him here!” The silver-haired girl called from the edge of their team bay, “You guys have five more minutes, coach’s calling for the same formation as before, so just get that ready in your head!”

A scoff went out of Caelus, “Huh, saved by the bell.”

“Duty calls on the honorable ones, my friend.” Gepard said as Caelus mock-begrudgingly let him off the headlock. The blonde quickly fixed his jersey, and flashed a two-fingered salute at Firefly, “Well, pleased to make your acquaintance, Firefly. Let’s have a better chat some other day!”

Firefly lightly bowed at his retreating figure, “It’s great to meet you too, Gepard.”

With a final grin, Gepard made his way to the awaiting girl. The two of them quickly falling into the talks of what Firefly could only assume to be the team’s strategy choices. Though she couldn’t help but to notice the special proximity that they had between one another.

“Those two seem to have a commanding presence over everyone on the team…”

“Welp, those two are the, quote unquote, commanding officers of the team.” Caelus, pointed towards Gepard, before shifting to the girl beside him, “You’ve got the captain, and you’ve got manager of the squad.”

Firefly hummed in amazement before Caelus continued explaining.

“The girl’s name is Bronya, and good old lil’ Geppie over there is her boyfriend.”

Now that made their general aura make much more sense to Firefly.

“I see, no wonder they look like a good pair next to each other…” She was only just about able to process the first revelation before looking back towards Caelus with a gaze of intrigue, “Also, lil’ Geppie?”

At the sight of her noticing, Caelus forced himself to stifle a guffawing laughter, “Right, don’t tell him I said that.” His voice turned down to a bit more of a whisper afterwards, “That’s a nickname his older sister would always use on him. But he goes apeshit if anyone other than her and Bronya were to call him with that.”

“I… don’t think I can blame him.” Firefly mused, before placing a hand on her chin, “Though I can also understand the urge to use such a cute nickname on such an imposing figure.”

“Right, it’s the weird thrill of potentially pissing off a calm guy that makes it work for the rest of us.” He pointed at Gepard with a reminiscent look, “Oh, and you should see how tame that guy becomes whenever Bronya’s the one to do it.”

Considering she’s only known the blonde for quite literally a couple of minutes, she could still envision the huge gap it surely would’ve looked like to see his commanding presence diminished with just a nickname.

“By the way, are you sure it’s alright for you to be out here talking with me instead of joining your team talk?” Firefly asked with slight concern as she noticed that his team was starting to huddle amongst one another, “I don’t wanna get in the way of you and your team’s strategy…”

Caelus was quick to wave off her concerns, “Nah, we’re kinda steamrolling them at the moment. I highly doubt I’d miss anything that’ll fuck us up that bad.” He picked at his head in thought, “Besides, they’d definitely call me over if there’s anything-,”

“Oi, McBroody! Turns out I need you here after all!”

With Caelus simply deadpanning towards his coach, who’d by now been waiting right behind them, Firefly chuckled at the sight of his infamous timing.

“You were saying?”

“Welp, nothing different from how my luck usually goes, I guess…”

He paused for a moment, before looking back toward her. A brief flash of contemplation went through his gaze, before his hand gingerly reached out towards her hair, gently patting her head with a nervous grin ladened on lips.

“I’ll be back in a bit then…”

She could barely register what it is that he just did, and simply stammered hopeless nothings as he scurried past her. Leaving her with nothing but a small wave as her way of responding.

The coach watched on with a tickled grin, “Haha, don’t worry missy. I ain’t gonna keep him here longer than I need him to be.” He nodded for further assurance, “Thankfully, that boyfriend of yours is a great player, so keep his head in the game for me, will ya!”

Leaving her with those parting words, Firefly didn’t even get a chance to reply with her usual demeanor considering she was still recovering from the Caelus’ first round of action.

In the end, she can only manage to stammer out.

“He-, He’s not my…”

In the end, no one heard her. And she could only sigh in acceptance.

Well, I guess that’s about as well as this morning could have begun…

The next half of his game had pretty much started the same way as when she had first arrived. The Preservation team was pretty much running circles around their opponents. Their midfielders were outmaneuvering their counterparts on every single play, the defense was rock-solid, and the forwards were using their midfield’s acute passes to their maximum capability.

On the other hand, Firefly could only notice one thing.

If he wasn’t having fun with his game before, then he sure as hell was having fun with it now.

His movements were rapid, and Firefly was sure that if she had been one of those defenders that were marking him, then she would have absolutely no chance of spotting him in the first place. Even from a spectator’s point of view, it was difficult for her to actually keep track of where he was and what he was about to do.

The second half had only gone on for about twenty minutes, yet Caelus had already grabbed a goal and assisted another one, while the enemy team, who looked like they had slim chances earlier, were now just straight up demolished by the Preservation’s performance.

Slowly, Firefly could hear the free laughter that was coming from the team’s bench. Some of them are already looking at the game with a gaze of acceptance.

“Damn, that Caelus… We should’ve known that the guy was sandbagging himself in the first half.”

“Ey, he’s got a girl to impress now! Let the man cook us a game so we don’t have to play anymore. It’s cold as shit out today…”

“Fuck, that’s true… The guy’s just tryna laud over all us, huh?”

“Man, shut your face! You’d be a tryhard just like him if you had someone to impress!”

“Fuck you, bruh…”

To Firefly, their conversation was… Enlightening, to say the least. She doesn’t have much experience with how boys normally talk amongst each other, but that was certainly a bit of a funny purview as to how a conversation between them would have normally sounded like.

In the end, she could only laugh mutely to herself. Though the day had certainly started in a rather unpredictable manner, it would be an outright lie to say that she hadn’t had the slightest bit of fun.

She took her back off the bench and settled to support her chin using her hands. Leaning forward to keep a closer eye on the grey-haired alien of chaos that’s currently terrorizing the field.

The cold breeze was starting to warm up, and being outside for the day started becoming a much more realistic prospect for her.

Of course…

When warmth comes around in nature, so do the occasional bugs that would aim to give your life a piece of its mind.

“Huh, think you’re some kinda big shot now, Ms. Lap Dog?”

Just like that, the warmth that the day was starting to envelop her with, disappeared faster than the speed of light itself. The air grew as cold as it had been the moment her day just started. Gravelly footsteps approached Firefly’s rear as she was reminded of the midweek events.

And the icy voice that followed its ear-screeching predecessor was the extra nail in the coffin.

“Oh, spare her, Maxwell! It’s not unusual for bumpkins like her to suddenly feel important when a couple of city people decide to acknowledge their existence.”

Again, her feet froze. Again, her voice lost all sense of its existence, and again, the dread within her soul made her hate herself for how much control just that mere voice alone had over her being.

But this time, she wasn’t backing down that easily.

It may have been the same group of people that had gotten to her before, but this time, she had all the more reason to not give her the win that she had been looking for today.

With all the effort and hospitality that Stelle, Himeko, Welt, and Caelus had offered, she wasn’t about to just shut down and distract everyone from their good times.

“I think you forgot that we both came from the same place, Chris.” She stood up firmly, both her gaze and stance were ready to hold her ground, “It’s just that one of us decided to actually remember to appreciate how they were brought up.”

The blonde clicked her tongue. Obviously irate at the mere sight of Firefly standing up for herself, “Oh? Well, look at you… Trying so adorably hard to grow a backbone for yourself.” She sneered with eyes as venomous as wild snakebites, “Whatever! Fool yourself however you want, girly. You think you belong here now, huh? You think that just because you get to cozy up with some high-value people, you can now just strut around into our academy like you own the place, hmm?”

Firefly gritted her teeth, “I rather think of them as good people.” Her fists clumped to a ball, “Calling them ‘high-value people’ just seems like a huge disservice to what they are as people.”

“And here comes that naivety that I, oh, so dearly missed…” Chrissy stepped that little bit closer, and Firefly couldn’t help but to take a step back, “No matter how hard you try to change, you don’t have the guts to actually make it in this kind of world, little Fly…”

Oh, now that has gotten Firefly’s blood boiling.

“You don’t get to use that name…”

“Oho, why the hell not? Your parents didn’t mind it when I called you that back then.”

Chrissy leaned in, with the thought that there was no way Firefly was going to act upon her words.

“But now that I think about it, there’s no way for them to complain even if they wanted to, hmm?”

*SMACK*

The slap resonated throughout the field, and those who were within close proximity of their camp immediately snapped their heads towards its source, and even some of the players who were still running amok around the field, couldn’t stop themselves from actually taking a look.

All because the scene of one of the school’s most notorious bully, sitting flat on her bottom in disbelief, eyes wide as a saucer while her hand held her cheek, was one that many of them had silently wished to see.

And the image of the girl who had done nothing but remain peaceful and quiet, standing and towering ahead of the blonde, her shoulders quaking with rage that she had never once succumbed to, was one that drew the pleasant surprise of many people.

Gone was Firefly’s subdued tone, and though she was just about to keep her volume in check, the growl in her voice was unmistakable to the people who had been paying attention.

“I’ve had enough of your bullshit, Chrissy…” Firefly retracted her cannon of hand back to her side, “Please, leave me alone. And forget that you have ever even heard of me in the first place.”

The group behind the blonde could do nothing but wait around for the reaction of their leader, who still sat in disbelief, before suddenly pushing herself off the ground and immediately going in for what she thought was her turn to repay the favor, which Firefly was all the more than ready to fight off.

Only to have her attempt at a swing be parried by a cane that swung out of nowhere. The resounding clunk of bare knuckles clashing against the wooden skin of its shaft, a sound that even Firefly had to wince at.

“AH, FUCK!” Chrissy jumped back at the sudden pain her knuckles were blasted with, her lackeys immediately surrounding her as if she’d been the one who was smacked to oblivion, “Who in the fuck-,”

“Hmph, a choice of words that are far from what a lady in the making should be uttering.”

Between the two of them, stood Welt, whose height amongst the teenagers made him stand as a gargantuan. Not to mention, the authority of his booming voice was enough to send anyone standing on his bad side immediately take a step or two back.

Of course, considering the stature of his son in the school’s grapevine, even the group of pompous bullies knew that this man was not someone they could just trifle with and expect to get away scot-free. None of them daring to say a peep, whilst Welt checked in on Firefly.

“Apologies, I was away from the area for a few minutes. I didn’t expect the timing to be this unfortunate…” He quickly checked on her hand, “Are you hurt anywhere?”

Firefly released a shaky breath, “I-I’m fine…” She slowly looked up to his gaze of concern, “Thank you for stepping in, I was getting kind of worried…”

“Himeko wouldn’t let me hear the end of it if I had let them get to you.” Welt said with assurance, before looking up and past Firefly, “Oh, so would she…”

Just as Firefly was about to ask, a thin object that looked somewhat like a wooden staff made its way past her and through towards the group of people who were simply standing around with confusion, before said confusion swiftly turned into fear as the person holding that wooden spear made herself present to the crowd.

“You’ve got some fuckin’ balls getting close to her again, you blonde harpy.” A furious Stelle made her way past Firefly and Welt, and kept the tip of the practice staff pointed directly at the bridge of Chrissy’s nose, “Looks like you really wanted to know how it feels like to have a stick run through your skull.”

The entire group audibly gulped, before a different, calmer voice, entered the fray from just behind Firefly.

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t threaten to commit manslaughter whilst holding my staff, Stelle.”

Looking to her side, Firefly found herself greeted with the sight of another teenage boy who looked just about their age. A cold, calculative, or rather aloof gaze sat on his features while his jet-black hair shimmered through the sunshine. He looked as if he had just about gone out of his own training session.

The boy gave her a light nod of greeting before turning towards Welt, “Morning, sir. I couldn’t stop her from stealing my staff, so here we are.”

“Morning, Dan Heng. I know very well that there’s nothing you can do once she’s set her eyes on doing anything.”

Before Firefly could even ask, the murmurs from the group of bullies began whizzing around the air. Some of their gazes were stuck between that look of admiration or fear, while the rest of them looked as if Dan Heng’s presence had been that of a ghost.

“Isn’t he that prodigy who’s from the Academy of The Hunt?”

“What’s he doing here, of all places?”

“Should we back off? I heard he was the national champion last season…”

“Maybe if I can play nice right now, I’ll have a chance at getting his socials…”

Unfortunately for them, Firefly wasn’t the only one who’d heard their quiet whispers. The sound of the staff’s whip cut through the air as Stelle took another step forward, stabbing the staff right at the grounds in front of the cowering group.

“The guy’s off limits, and the only thing you guys have a chance of getting right now, is a fucking beatdown.” She readied her attack stance once more, “Either you’re getting beat up by someone who knows her way around this staff, or you’re getting beat by the guy who’s used it to shit on the whole nation.”

Understanding his cue, Dan Heng merely sighed as he stepped forward. Though his gaze remained nonchalant, there was an underlying coldness to it that kept the people ahead of him rooted to the spot.

Stelle scoffed with satisfaction.

“So, which one is it?”

Yet again, before anyone could say a word, another voice had decided to interject the play in hand.

“Are these people bothering you, Professor Welt?”

This time, Firefly was able to recognize her voice before turning around to make sure she hadn’t been mistaken.

And sure enough, it happened to be Bronya. The football club’s manager had her hand on her hips and was visibly less than impressed with the overall conduct that was happening with the crowd.

Though it also just hit her that she had just called with the title of Professor.

“Ah, Bronya… They were just being hostile towards my ward.” Welt placed a hand on his chest, “I do hope that his hasn’t put a damper on the team’s focus…”

The silver-haired girl shook her head with a smile, “Not at all. The whole of you were just standing up for her, right?” With a quick nod from the man, Bronya took it upon herself to now look towards the offending group, “As for you loiterers, I would ask of you to remove yourselves from the vicinity of this field before I decide to call on the authority.”

Finally, Chrissy found enough irritation to take a step forward, “You’re gonna sick the security on us?” She scoffed as she looked away with disbelief, “Hah, I’d like to see you try!”

Bronya merely sighed, putting away her writing board to her side before fully addressing the girl, “Christine Chervinsky, was it? I’m only going to say this once, and I hope that you’ll be able to comprehend its implications.” She didn’t wait for her to say anything more, and simply kept talking, “As the club manager, I currently hold just as much power as the coach does, regarding the use of this field. Which means that I also wield the current authority to govern this facility as how I see fit.”

Chrissy could only swallow her own spit, “Ugh, you…”

“Like I said, I’m only going to say it once.” Bronya postured once more, “I do hope that you at least have the capability to think of the correct decision here.”

The small slight that Bronya threw within her words surely didn’t go unnoticed by the already enraged blonde.

“Capability, huh? I’ll show you suck-up skank what I’m capable of-,”

Only to have the fire that lit up in her eyes be extinguished with the sudden sight of a football whizzing just millimeters away from the bridge of her nose. The speed alone was enough to send a swift breeze past both groups, and the sound if the impact that it had on the tree beside them would’ve surely signaled that it would’ve done serious damage had it actually hit its target.

The group of now terrified offenders all cranked their heads slowly but surely towards the direction of where the ball had just come from, and sure enough, they were met with the sight of two football players who knew very well what it was that they’d just done.

There stood the captain of the football team, with a gaze that could probably pierce their skulls the way Stelle had wanted to run that staff through, had it been scientifically possible to do so.

And beside him, possibly the person who had launched the ball towards them in the first place, was one, furious, murderous, and absolutely positively enraged Caelus.

His gaze sent them one message, and one message only.

The next one is guaranteed to fucking hit you all…

The whole group could only go through so many threats at once, and Caelus having the last say was definitely one that would push any group of people to finally throwing in the towel.

That being said, Chrissy wasn’t about to leave without leaving any sort of final victorious, though doubtful in its actual nature, remark.

“Hmph, keep cowering behind other people then, Ms. Bumpkin!” She laughed almost maniacally, “At least someone like you won’t be able to attend the glorious end-of-school-year prom that will only be exclusive to people who are actually worth it.” The snap of her fingers and a final, pompous wave were enough for her entourage to tail her like lost kids, “Keep living in your delusion, Firefly. One day, you’ll just be alone again, then you’d remember who you fucking owe your social life to.”

Jaded, bitter, and hurtful words. Firefly could only mourn at the fact that the person who said it was indeed someone who she used to think the world of.

Regardless of how much she had tried to grow past it, those words still stung.

Yet, Firefly was not going to allow herself to falter.

“Unbelievable…”

She looked up to see Himeko approaching the group with a look at pure disdain at the departing group, before it evaporated to a look of concern once Himeko approached her with a hand on her hair.

“Are you alright, dear?”

What else could she do other than to nod? She’s given them so much trouble, she wouldn’t dare to ask of them for anything more.

“Y-Yeah… I’m fine.”

Meanwhile, a pair of amber eyes had been a close eye on her from the field, and so were the eyes of a certain coach, who merely sighed at the sight of his player’s waning attention.

While the group made sure that Firefly had righted herself, the game itself was slowing down for either side. Though it was less because the visiting academy had finally grown some legs and stepped up their game, but more because the Preservation’s team was starting to hit dead ends in their build-up play. While the opposing team was relieved that they somehow managed to stump their attacks, they knew that there was no chance for them to even come back from this.

On the other hand, the Preservation’s coach knew very well why their attacks had suddenly been stunted. His eyes merely observed his star winger’s feet. Just minutes ago, he was sharply weaving past defenders like they were crochet patterns, and now, some sloppy one-time touches, short-sighted passes, and just a general lack of direction with his play was enough for the coach to recognize that he’s no longer in the game.

That being said, he couldn’t exactly blame the kid. Any player would have had their mentality rattled if they’d just seen such abuse being thrown at a person they care about.

Just as Bronya came back to his side, she wasted no time to offer her comments.

“Coach, I think you-,”

“You think I should take him off… Yeah, yeah… I think I pushed him far enough for today.” He nodded towards the official standing near their team bay, “Notify the fourth official. Let’s get him out of there, and tell him to just go straight for the showers. He can skip the debrief.”

Though Bronya fully understood his reasoning, she just wanted to hear it from the usually stoic man, “Positive?”

He simply nodded with a sigh, “He’s got better things to do right now.” He scoffed humorously to follow, “Let’s give our star player a cookie every now and then. Guess the kid kinda earned it this time around.”

Bronya chuckled in agreement, “Heh, you got it, boss.”

He couldn’t help but to chuckle all the same, before looking towards his bench, “Oi, Cannivier, you’re up!”

The timing was rather fortunate, the moment she notified the fourth official of the numbers to swap, the ball immediately went out of play, and the switch was done rather instantaneously. Caelus only had a brief look of surprise before he quickly made his way to the end of the field, high-fiving his teammates along the way before ending it with the player he subbed out with.

Sidling up to Bronya, she gave him a similar high five before shoving her thumb towards the direction of the gym.

“Go straight for the showers, you can skip the debrief today.”

Caelus simply looked at her as if she had just gone nuts. Naturally so, since Bronya was never one to let players skimp out of debriefs just like that.

“Don’t give me that stupid look, it’s coach’s orders.” She grinned sarcastically, “You know I wouldn’t have let you off the hook that easily.”

Noticing her playfulness, Caelus simply smiled loosely, “Yeah, yeah… whatever.” Before nodding his head towards the general direction of the small skirmish that happened before, “Is she alright?”

“Your whole family’s with her, she’s safe.” Bronya assured him, before smacking him by the shoulder, “Now go and shower up, don’t keep your girl waiting.”

Though his eyes only widened for a moment, he merely shot her a grin and made his way out of the team bay, but not before stopping by the coach.

“Thanks for today, coach.”

The man simply let out another mock-weary sigh, “No wonder you were all sorts of down in the first-half. Bah, young love…” He thrusted his chin towards the same direction as where Firefly is, “But, do tell your girlfriend this old man’s sorry for taking her man away so early in the day.”

“Shut your face…” Caelus mumbled with a blush.

“Now go, before I change my mind.” The coach urged, with a kick to Caelus’ ass, “And good job today. I’ll let Bronya know if there’s anything important to take note of from the debrief.”

Nodding with gratitude, Caelus flashed a thumbs up, “Thanks, and I’ll see ya around, coach.”

Just like that, Caelus bolted towards the gym, all while his other teammates at the bench simply looked at the guy with envy.

“Coach, why does he get to leave early? We also wanna spend more time with our girls rather than just sitting here on the bench!”

The coach didn’t even need to look at them.

“One, the rest of y’all don’t got girls. Two, if you can all play half as good as he did today, then by all means, I’m all ears!”

That was enough to quell any further protests from his benchwarmers.

Meanwhile, the sight that was imaged on the bench area that Firefly had been sitting on, was still rather unique, considering she thought that the weirdness of the day had finally passed by her.

Namely one Stelle, prostrating on the ground while apologizing profusely to the gentle lady, whilst Welt and Himeko sat on either side of her bench.

“My bad, Firefly. I got too distracted by my boyfriend’s awesome bojutsu skills-,”

A soft thwack of Dan Heng’s staff landed itself on her head, courtesy of its very owner.

“You don’t get to use me as part of your excuse.” He said straightforwardly, “Now recant, review, and revise your statement so that you don’t risk committing perjury.”

Stelle looked up incredulously, “What am I in a tria-, ACK!”

Another thwack of his staff, and this time, she kept her head down.

“Not a trial, though you are at the mercy of my staff.”

The still-prostrating girl’s voice was now muffled, “Out of context, that sounds kinda kinky-,”

*THWACK*

Dan Heng averted his gaze towards Firefly, “Apologies for the behavior of my client. Her trashy tendencies tend to rear its ugly head every now and then.”

“Hey, who’re you calling trash-,”

*THWACKK*

And for now, Stelle stayed down.

Firefly on the other hand, just took this as another one of the family’s weird stunts, but remained remorseful for Stelle, “I-It’s alright, really! I’d rather if you don’t hit her again…” She winced outwardly, “Those strikes sounded really painful…”

“Oh, don’t mind this.” Dan Heng postulated, giving his staff a quick wipe in the meantime, “I’m taking this as payback for using me as target practice for her batting strikes.”

“Ah…” Well, Firefly doesn’t know what to say to that.

“Either way, are you sure you’re alright, Firefly?” Welt asked with concern, “I was also somewhat late to the scene, and though I didn’t exactly see how things played out, there must be a reason for you to hit her first…”

“Whoa, you hit her first, Firefly?!” Stelle’s head whipped up so hard, she almost headbutted the poor girl, “Damn, I would’ve paid good money to see that-,”

This time, Dan Heng opted to just tap the girl’s head to avoid accidentally hitting anyone else, “Oi, you’re not dismissed just yet.”

Stelle merely turned towards him with a pleading gaze in her eyes, all while Firefly could only chuckle at the sight ahead of her.

“It’s alright, Dan Heng.” She thought of her role in the situation for a brief moment, “Since I’m technically the plaintiff here, I can ask for the charges to be dropped, right?”

“Oh? Then I take it that you are waving your rights to continue the trial?”

“Umm… yes?” At this point, Firefly doesn’t even know what else to say.

“Very well, then the defendant is to be relieved of her charges.” He tapped Stelle on the shoulder before professing, “You may now rise.”

Instead of immediately rising like a normal person, Stelle merely dipped her head further. And just as Firefly was about to ask if she was alright, the girl had leaped out of her prostrating form and quickly made her way to grasp at Dan Heng’s staff, to which the boy evaded her efforts with ease.

“Really, this again, Stelle?”

“What’s wrong? Scared that I might getcha this time?”

Dan Heng scoffed dramatically, “Heh, do your worst.”

And just like that, the two fell into a silent, yet deadly game of who could take the staff off of the other. Promptly forgetting about their surroundings and simply falling into a world of their own. All why Firefly could once again, only stare.

“Do they… do this often?”

Himeko laughed at her expression, “At this point, the both of us just learned to let it happen.” She pondered for a moment, before she snapped her fingers in thought, “Just consider it their own form of love language.”

Well, that makes enough sense for Firefly. At least, when it comes to this particular family.

Despite the reality of what she just went through, Firefly managed to find it within herself to let out a genuine chuckle, “The more I learn about your family, the more interesting things I’m finding.” She lightly bowed, “Thank you once again for taking care of me today. I’m very grateful for how welcoming all of you have been.”

Welt leant forward, “Well, as much as we would like to say ‘you’re welcome’… the day’s not over just yet.” He prefaced his words with a nod towards a direction just past Firefly, “I’d wager that the day has actually just begun for you, and for him.”

Following his line of sight, Firefly turned around to the image of Caelus practically barreling towards their bench. His hair still slightly wet from the shower he just went through, and the urgency of his need to get to her was blatantly obvious to everyone else except for the girl who thought had been paying extra attention to him.

He stopped abruptly just mere centimeters away from her, and quickly ducked down to hold both her hands in his own.

“Hey, you alright?” He asked without further preamble, “Sorry I can’t be there again… Hopefully that ball was enough of a warning to-,”

“Caelus, I’m fine!” Firefly calmed him down with a chuckle, gesturing towards his parents and the two idiots who were trying to grapple each other for a flimsy wooden staff, “Your whole family stepped in to cover me, and I couldn’t be more grateful.”

Caelus breathed out a sigh of relief, “That’s… good.” He spared a glance towards his parents, then the two dumbasses that were still fighting over a flimsy wooden staff, and decided to just settle for saying it to his parents, “Thanks a bunch, guys. You helped my butt there, seriously…”

“Well, don’t thank us just yet…”

Welt’s voice was teasing as he threw something towards Caelus, who promptly caught the object, only to then realize that his father had thrown him the keys to his own car. A look of confusion flitted between Caelus’ expressions before Welt and Himeko laughed in unison, the former then nodding towards Firefly.

“Treat her right first, then we’ll see if our efforts for the day have had its uses.”

“And then, you can thank us…” Himeko added with a wink, “Go on now, drive safe.”

The two teens in front of them locked eyes with one another, before both looked away with a blush that threatened to paint their entire face. Caelus could only manage to clear his throat before extending a hand to Firefly.

“Well, you heard what they said…” He said with a sigh of exasperation, “I guess its time for me to finally treat you to a proper date, huh?”

Firefly had to calm her inner thoughts for a moment. Though it’s rather true that they have gone out together a couple of times before, it never truly felt as if any of those occasions could be counted as anything close to a date. It was really more of an off-chance outing between two friends that just happened to be from different schools, and that’s about it. Never anything truly planned and truly meant to feel like anything other than a casual, friendly hangout.

This, however, are different circumstances.

Yet, Firefly thought it was probably only a matter of time before they go on one in the first place.

So… There’s nothing wrong with indulging in the fact that she can go on one, right?

Gingerly reaching out to his outstretched hand, Firefly took his hand in one stride.

“I-If you’ll have me, then…”

With a smile, Caelus pulled her up to her feet, and held her tenderly in his arms. Only managing to lock their gaze for just a few seconds before Himeko called out once more.

“Remember, drive safe, and remember to not stay out too late.” She chimed out, before her voice turned rather dark, “And Caelus, if you dare do anything inappropriate to her…”

Not even needing to hear the rest of her sentence, Caelus quickly dragged Firefly by her hand and pointed towards the southern parking lot, “YOU’RE CAR IS PARKED THERE, RIGHT DAD? YOU ALWAYS PARK THERE, BYEEE!!”

They were out of earshot within seconds of lightning fast walking, and Firefly was able to spare a quick wave towards his parents, before she finally took in Caelus’ reddening face.

She giggled quietly to herself.

“What’re you laughing at?”

“Ehe, nothing!”

As they reached the rather fancy looking sedan, Caelus quickly unlocked the door, placed his stuff in the backseat, and went over to open the passenger seat. Gently ushering her to step in, and patiently waited until she was fully settled before closing the door and heading for his own seat.

Once he got the car set and ready to his adjustments, he started the car and simply looked towards her with an open smile.

“Where to?”

Firefly merely laughed, and put on her seatbelt.

“I’ll let you lead the way for now, Caelus.”

And so, their day of awkwardly bumbling around one another with no one to interfere began without a hitch. They finally settled to go to a nearby open-air mall that had a lot of winter decorations that were set to honor the annual Clockie cartoon-series anniversary. Though they were rather back and forth on deciding where they should be eating, mostly because neither were willing to feel as if they were forcing the other to go along with their plans, they eventually picked a rather fancy restaurant to dine in, which made Firefly feel rather conscious about the fact that he was fully picking up the bill.

“A-Are you sure you’re fine with covering the entire thing?” She asked with urgency, “I really don’t mind paying for my-,”

He raised his hand before she could finish her words, “My dad will absolutely decimate me if he finds out that I made a girl pay for her own portion during a date.” His grin, however, remained loose, “Nah, but seriously, don’t worry… I got too much money for my own sanity anyway, so spending it on you is a freakin no brainer way to keep things worth it.”

“I-If you say so…” Came her timid reply.

Softly clinking his cutlery, he nodded towards her food, “Now you can enjoy it without feeling guilty, right?”

Eventually, even Firefly had to relent to his unrelenting assurance, “Fine, fine… You got me…”

“Let’s eat up, then.” His grin simply grew brighter, “I’ve got a couple of places that I wanna show for today, hopefully you’ve got a lot in your tank still!”

Firefly hid her laughter beneath the motion of chewing her food. Her words of confession were only heard by the throes of her heart.

I can do anything, if you’re right there by my side, all along the way.

And do anything and everything they did.

After lunch was settled, he took her to a nice flower shop that had actually long been a partner shop of Firefly’s very own. She wanted to keep that fact hidden from him considering the fact that he’d looked very excited to be able to show her what he thought was another cool flower shop in the city of Penacony, but she only got to about ten steps within the shop before one of the workers, who happened to be the grandson of the owner, immediately extended his greetings to her.

If she could see people turn into stones of disappointment, then Caelus would’ve been the very first example for her to look at. Though she tried her best to tell him that the thought was what mattered the most, it didn’t stop the guy from visibly sulking about the fact that he hadn’t done a great job in researching for places to take her to.

However, the chance to lift his spirits came when the grandson teasingly raised his eyebrow towards the downtrodden man next to her.

“What’s this I see…? Could it be that Grandma Ruth’s very own Firefly is out on a date?” The grandson then bellowed a laughter that went ringing through the shop, “I wonder, how would Grandma Ruth react to this sight of her granddaughter with a hotshot like him?”

Sparing a glance towards the still-sulky Caelus, Firefly shot the grandson a blinding grin.

“Yeah, it’s been a great date so far!” She took a hold of Caelus’ arm, who immediately lit up at her touch, “And don’t worry about grandma. She wouldn’t have let me go on one had it not been one that was with him!”

And just like that, it was as if Caelus’ previous stony disposition had suddenly swapped places with the grandson’s very own sunny mannerism. That sulky face now successfully replaced with a wondrous grin, to which Firefly could only speculate as to why it lay comfortably on his lips.

The grandson visibly picked at his chest, “I-It’s that so…?” he could only further sizzle out as Firefly nodded vehemently, “That’s… good for you, then!”

“Thank you, in any case, we’ll take a look around the shop!” She pulled the still daydreaming Caelus, away towards the other end of the shop, “I’ll be looking around to see if there’s anything that might be good to stock up on, I’ll see you around!”

“S-Sure… take your time!”

Leaving the deteriorating young boy behind, Caelus finally snapped out of his reverie, before he hesitantly pointed back towards the front of the shop where the boy had greeted them.

“I dunno if I’m being presumptuous or whatever…” He paused before finally asking, “But did that guy have a crush on you or something?”

Firefly sighed and couldn’t stop herself from pouting, “He probably did. But, he’s one of those ones who just can’t grow up from all the teasing, and ends up doing nothing but do just that the entire time we spent growing up.” She then pondered on the state of how boys would always express their interest on her beforehand, “Funnily enough, most of the boys I knew from other flower shops kind of share the same way of doing things. Guess I was just never a fan of it…”

“Wow, Ms. Popular… I get it now.” Caelus couldn’t help but to tease, pointing at himself with a bright shit-eating grin, “Does that mean I can consider myself Mr. Lucky?”

Firefly feigned a thoughtful hum, “Hmm, that depends…” She tightened her grip on his arm ever-so-slightly to remind him of the fact that she was still clinging to him, “Do you feel like Mr. Lucky, at the moment?”

“Mmm, what if we leave the answer to that for the end of day?” He then somewhat grinned with uncertainty, “I’m not saying that it’s gonna happen, but there’s still a big fat chance that I’ll fuck this whole shit up one way or another, so I don’t wanna jinx myself or anything like that…”

Certainly, Firefly could understand the urge to play it safe. So, she went along with what he had to say, “If it makes you feel any better, then I can say with confidence that you’re doing a decent job.” She then scratched at her cheek, “That being said, I’m not entirely sure if I’m even qualified to make an assessment considering the fact that I’ve never been on a date before…”

“Well, only one way to find out.” Caelus professed, opting to keep looking at the flowers without a concern in his mind, “I’ll try to keep up the good work, milady.”

Playing along with his act of cheery dramatism, Firefly laughed freely, “Then I eagerly wait for everything else that you have in store.”

And so, they carried on with their day. After more visits to different shops in the mall, Caelus decided it was time for them to move on to a much more scenic location, and drove them up to the Golden Hour. Penacony’s most iconic leisurely spot, and with the evening wind kicking in, it served as a great precursor for them to just take their time and enjoy a light stroll around the great attraction.

Though as soon as they stepped foot on the establishment, Caelus could tell that the breeze that blew past Firefly had a little of an of air of melancholy around her.

Acting on pure reflex, he swiftly grabbed hold of her hand. His touch dragged her eyes to once again meet his ardent gaze.

“Hey, you alright?” He was overly conscious of his decision-making, and he knew that. But he wasn’t about to take any chances when it came to her, “If you’re feeling doozy, then we can just sit around somewhere-,”

“Don’t worry, I’m fine!” She looked around at the scene in front of her with a degree of fondness that Caelus couldn’t quite comprehend, “It’s just… it’s been quite a long time since I came back here.” Seeing as he was already holding her hand anyway, she decided to link their arms together once more, “If you don’t mind, can I take the lead for this one? I’ve actually got a place that I want to take a look at.”

Right, he’d sooner fall off the face of the planet rather than to say no to such a considerate request.

“By all means…” As they began walking in step, he tentatively asked, “You know that… you didn’t need to ask if you wanna take me somewhere, right? I don’t want you to feel like we need to go where I go cause-,”

“N-No, I know that! Don’t worry…” She patted his arm for further reassurance, “You’ve been amazing the entire day, I genuinely wouldn’t have it any other way.” She winced innocently, “It was just an old habit of mine kicking in, you don’t need to worry about it!”

“Alright then…” Caelus relented, not wanting to push the matter even further. “Lead the way, madam.”

And so, they walked through the extensive scenic route that the Golden Hour had been famously known for. With captivating views of the city and the shoreline alike, it was truly a location that was designed to pamper the eyes and soothe the soul.

However, Caelus could immediately tell that the route they were taking was not one that was really part of the main attraction. Slowly, but surely, he began seeing much more plant variety, and instead of commemorative statues of the city’s icons littered around the paths, there were more and more botanical varieties that began sprouting around. Until eventually, he realized that she’d led them to a place that had looked like a section of Golden Hour that had been dedicated to beautiful floral patterns and various flower showcases. The garden itself had been rather sectioned off from the main path, but there were still a select few people around them who were probably aware of this place existing in the first place.

He took a wider look at the scenery, and noticed the brilliant blend of floral attractions with the view of the shoreline just below the jagged cliffs of Golden Hour’s main area. And with the sun now beginning to set on the horizon, coupled with the evening breeze that caressed their beings, it suddenly lulled Caelus to a greater sense of peace.

They then arrived at a particular balcony that had a sea of blue flowers adorning its edges while overlooking the actual sea itself, and Firefly decided to walk up ahead of him.

Just as he was about to catch up to her, he decided to take a moment, and take in the view ahead of him instead.

Her silvery blonde hair beautifully wove through the air as the setting sun lit up her features to the tune of the golden hue. The glint of the sea sparkles reflected on her eyes was enough for Caelus to just stand there and let himself become lost at the sight of her radiant gaze. Her dress and overcoat cling to her being in a way that perfectly accentuates her figure, and her face glowed brilliantly alongside the rest of her accessories.

From where he stood, he might as well be looking at an angel.

Quietly, he took his phone out, and quickly set it up to take a brief snap of the moment. One snap turned into two, and two turned into three, which then turned into an uncontrollable burst of his desire to capture every bit of emotion her mesmerizing self was portraying.

Eventually, he couldn’t help himself.

“Hey, Firefly…” He called out ever so softly.

At the sound of her name, she looked back with an unexpectant gaze in her eyes. Though when she spotted his phone, she quickly leaned on the support of her hands, which rested peacefully on the railing.

“Smile?” He asked, hopeful.

She giggled adorably before obliging. Portraying that radiant smile that had undoubtedly captivated him from the very moment he saw her laugh in that flower shop.

The smile that captured his heart.

And just as the click of his phone’s camera shutter resounded through the expanse of their surroundings, so did everything else click in his heart.

I love you…

If he could keep her secure deep within his heart, then he would’ve done so right there and then.

“Well, how do I look?”

A brief smile at the result, and Caelus walked up to her side. Image ready to be shown in hand.

“Dazzling.”

“Oh, hush now…” She stows the blush away from her cheeks, before looking at the photo, pleasantly surprised at the results, “Oooh, that looks amazing!”

Caelus let her take hold of his phone, before leaning on the railing himself.

“A lot easier when the subject already looks that good…”

She wasn’t sure if he meant to murmur that under his breath, but she could only keep scrolling through the rest of the photos in order to keep her heart under control.

Only for her to realize that…

He had taken a whole lot of photos of her.

And the more expressions she saw that he had captured of hers, the more she couldn’t stop her heart from beating that much louder.

Eventually, she had to admit defeat and wordlessly pass his phone back to its owner. Trying to keep her emotions under control as she attempted to remember the reason why she had brought him here in the first place.

And eventually, that was what she decided to focus on.

She waited for the sun to go a bit further down, before she sprung the question on him.

“Do you remember the story that I told you about how my parents came up with my name?”

Caelus nodded calmly, “Yeah, it was cause they were out on a stroll and came across some blue… salvias, was it?” He smiled triumphantly at the sight of her nod, before continuing with his attempts to remember the story, “And since salvias were of high nectar, it then attracted a lot… of…”

With a light pressure on his arm, she gently urged him to look down at the flowerbed that adorned the balcony’s outer layer. And with the sun just about fully setting down the horizon, the glow of the beautifully nightly creatures became all the more visible to his eyes.

The blue salvias in front of him, are now lit up by the soft glow of the ever present and unique creature that frequents these flowers.

“Fireflies…”

Caelus finally finished his recollection of her story.

Meanwhile, Firefly beamed at his successful recantation of her story, “It’s nice of you to remember the whole thing…”

“Well, of course… it’s such an important story to you…” He then pointed at the sea of fireflies ahead of them, “Wait, so you mean to tell me…”

“Yup, this is the place where my parents came up with my name!” The beam that she had on her lips never left, “I promised myself that if there was one special day where it feels like I have the right person to bring here, then I would try my best to make it happen.”

If there was an effective way to get at Caelus’ heart, then her sentiments were a surefire way to go at it.

She placed a gentle hand over his own, grasped it as how a feather would feel had it lay at the back of his hand.

“Today’s been amazing, and so have the past couple of months of spending time with you.” She confessed, her shy gaze flittering between the flowerbed and his own amber orbs, “I just hope that with this… I can show you how much it all has meant to me.”

Caelus kept his words to himself, whilst Firefly carried on with her outpour.

“I never really knew my parents in the most literal sense, but I think the fact that they’ve left me with so many memories as to who they were, gave me so much more conviction that they’d care for me with all their heart.” She let out a watery chuckle, “It might seem a bit childish for me to cling a lot of my current understanding of emotions to the memory of people that I basically barely knew, but I believe that someone who can take the time to understand that side of me will be someone that I can trust with that side of me.”

Her thumb brushed over her hold on his hand, “A long time ago, I made the mistake of entrusting that side of me to someone who didn’t fully understand what it meant to lose people…”

Caelus couldn’t help but to grit his teeth. If there was ever a universe where he could’ve met her a lot earlier and been by her side before that slimy blonde ever had the chance to, then he would’ve no doubt done all that he can to be there for her.

“But with you… it just feels like I can be secure.” She looked up to him with the softest of gazes, “When I told you of the memories I had of my parents, how I am tied so much to flowers, you were always so patient, and so understanding of what I’m trying to explain.” She almost spoke as if she had thought to herself, “It’s like… you can understand what it feels to have been in that position of loss beforehand…”

At that point, Caelus felt the need to interject.

“Well, that’s probably because I sorta… do.” He admitted, picking at his nape as he does so, “But maybe not literally in the kinda way that you understand it.”

Firefly tilted her head at his words, “W-What do you mean…?”

He then chuckled nervously.

“In all technicality… me and Stelle? We were originally orphans.”

Eyes turning wide, Firefly blinked once, then blinked twice.

Before it all clicked in her head.

“W-Wait, so you guys are…?”

“Hehe, yup. Himeko and Welt adopted us when we were really young. Like, literal babies.”

“But you guys don’t act as if you two were adopted. I-I mean… like, you four looked as if you guys are family by blood!” Firefly then began mulling over the more scientific aspect of their relationship, “That being said… a redhead woman with a brown-haired man having children who ends up with grey hair…”

“Right? I’m no geneticist, but I’m pretty sure the science doesn’t quite fit there, hehe.” Caelus postulated with finality, “Though I guess that part about us looking like a real family is kinda the lucky part. I know so many foster kids who ended up with shitty parents, so the fact that we ended up with two people that I genuinely wouldn’t think twice to call them mom and dad, was a huge blessing.”

Meanwhile, Firefly just can’t seem to fully wrap her head around the revelation, “Still… with inadvertently chaotic all of you are…”

Caelus laughed as he swung her arms around to get her attention back in line, “Haha, the point is… I get what you’re trying to say.” He gazed out to the crimson sky, “When we lose things early on in our life, we tend to anchor our emotions on things that seemed… funny, to some people.” He then averted his gaze back to the sea of fireflies ahead of them, “But, Himeko once said we shouldn’t let other people decide how we wanna feel things. There are certain things that only make sense to certain people, and we should do our best to understand that.”

And that is exactly what Firefly had known to be missing from everyone else that she’d tried to get close to in her life. The reason she can meld so well with the elderly who frequent her flower shop is because of the sole fact that these people have known loss. They know how to understand the emotions that come with it, and how people end up clinging their understanding of their own feelings based on how that loss had happened.

“Like I said, I basically never knew my parents. But growing up, me and Stelle had always had that weird feeling of… absence, in our life.” He was then quick to add, “Don’t get me wrong, Himeko and Welt have been amazing, but younger us just always had that thing where…”

“You feel as if there’s always someone missing in your life, right?” Firefly suggested, “Like there’s this void that can never be filled?”

“Right! And it took us a while to realize that it will always be there, because it just is.” He admitted, “But, it also gave us a reason to better appreciate the things that we have around us now. I’ve got great parents, and as much as a dumbass as she is, Stelle is actually a pretty hardcore sister.”

At the mention of his twin, Firefly could only shake her head, “You two are a mystery to the world, in all honesty.”

“Well, not gonna argue with that.”

A quick bout of laughter spread between them, before Caelus pulled her that little bit closer to him.

“But really, what I’m kinda tryna say is… thank you, I guess?” He gestured towards the scenery around them, “This is such an important memory for you, and you were willing to share it with me, of all people. And I get that it’s such a big thing for you, and I can only be grateful that you think I was like… worthy enough of this memory.”

He breathed out a shaky sigh. His hands once again picked at the back of his neck.

“Sorry, I’m not all that good with the sappy stuff…”

Firefly beamed right back at him, “It’s alright… you’re doing well, if I might add.”

“Thanks…” He gratefully replied, before clearing his throat and shaking his nerves away, “That’s also kinda why… before I get carried away with all this, since I’m really starting to lose confidence in myself to actually hold my shit together…”

He stammered over more of his words, but with Firefly’s silent urging, he was eventually able to string his words together.

“If it’s possible, can we head back to your flower shop first?”

Flicking on one of the table lamps, she kept a gentle illumination on the flower shop as she made her way to put her coat on the counter. Watching as he paced round the main flower display, a look of contemplation evident in his features.

She patiently waited by the counter, watching his every step, as it seemed as if he was doubting his own moves. Gaining conviction in one moment, only to lose all momentum in the next.

She couldn’t help but to just giggle at how adorable his change of expressions had looked like.

Unbeknownst to her, that melodious laughter of hers was the one that had set all of this in motion in the first, and it had also been the one thing that solidified the convictions of his heart.

Even though his feet wavered on every waking step that he took towards the counter, he managed to stand confidently at the sight of her gaze, and took a deep breath.

“Can I get the brightest, most radiant red rose that you can find in your collection?”

Firefly could feel her heart skip a beat. Though she quickly calmed herself as she really did not want to presume more than anything that she was one hundred percent sure of.

So, for now, she shall play to his tune.

“Just one?”

Caelus nodded, “Just the one.”

“Alright, I’ll be back in a bit.”

After making sure to notice his nod, she quickly made her way towards their workshop, and into their cooler room. She knew exactly where to find the type of roses that he had been looking for, and it would have been in the collection that her grandma personally tends to.

With a quick search, she was able to find the specific pot that held those types of roses, and began combing through each and every one of them to find the most radiant one.

Eventually, she came across one that had a note stuck to the bottom part of the stem.

And it had her grandmother’s writing on it.

It simply said:

Dear Firefly, if you ever need one for yourself, then get this one! It’s got a little more love from yours truly…

Just like that, she meticulously removed it from its batch and made sure to adorn it with the proper single flower wrapping. Adding a little bow to add a bit of an extra personal touch, before nodding confidently to herself.

Right, this should be the one…

Making her way back to the front counter, she was surprised to find him standing at the front of her shop’s glass display instead. The hue of the outside street lamp alongside the light of the moon adorned his features with such a brilliant tinkle, that Firefly couldn’t help but to just stand there and… look.

The way he had this air of calmness when he just remained idle, the way his chest rose and fell with every undulating breath, the softness in which he caressed the petals of the orchids in front of him, and the gentleness that his gaze has held.

The radiant glow of the rose in her hand matches with that of her heart.

And it all made sense to her, all the same.

I love you…

So, she steeled her convictions, and walked up to him with the rose in hand.

He turned the moment her footsteps came within earshot, and she presented the dazzling red rose. Its adornments and color now blending mesmerizingly with all the new lights that are now showering its beauty.

Extending the rose towards him, she kept her air of casual professionalism somewhat loose around her.

“I think I found just the right one…”

He gently grabbed hold of the flower, and chuckled with an undue mix of amazement and adoration, “Guess you did…” Before looking up from the flower, “How much do I owe ya?”

Firefly shifted her feet around, and twiddled with her thumbs. Her hesitation was initially the only palpable thing on her features, before she took a deep breath and shook off all the professionalism she had left.

“It’s on the house…” She conferred, before placing a hand over her chest, “Or more specifically, it’s on me…”

Blinking owlishly, Caelus’ orbs flitted between her and the brilliant red rose, before he began chuckling to himself once more.

“Well, that’s convenient…” He twirled the flower with a degree of nervousness in his hand, “Because I was sorta thinking…”

He began fumbling over his words once more. But this time, Firefly couldn’t exactly hold her curiosity back.

“…You were thinking?”

“Hold up, my bad.” He raised his hand for a split second, seemingly trying to arrange his own train of thought, “I honestly didn’t think that I’d make it this far without ever fucking something up…”

Honesty is the best policy after all. Firefly would admit that much.

And she knew very well that all he needed was that bit of time.

“Well then, you have all the time you need.”

Suddenly, he took a sharp intake of breath, and seemingly steeled his gaze, “You know what?” He straightened his posture and released the last bits of his nerves, “I’m done hesitating.”

In a move that Firefly probably should’ve seen coming, he pulled her close and presented the rose that she literally just gave him, and lowered his gaze to keep their eyes better connected.

“I know that we still have a fuck ton of stuff to find out about each other, and I can’t really say that I know what’s waiting for us after today.” After making sure that he wasn’t wavering within his sentences, he slipped the rose onto the support of her ear before he continued, “But I know for a fact that I’m probably gonna regret never trying to find out how my life would be, if you were there by my side.”

Amber orbs kept its unwavering gaze on her own iridescent violet ones, and she could do nothing but hold her breath.

“Today was just all the more reason for me to take that chance, and I hope you don’t mind if I ask this question…”

Her grip had moved from his hand to his chest, and she couldn’t help but to feel…

“Firefly Ellis…”

Just how fast a heart can beat.

“…Will you do me the honor of making me your boyfriend?”

The light of the lamp flickered as if the magnitude of his question had permeated the room and its senses. The moon had shown so much more of its light as its glow began to filter through the strands of his hair.

And Firefly herself could only stare right at the young man, who just bore all of his heart for her to see.

His eyes began to shift, “I-I know that it might be kinda early and all, but I think-,”

“Yes.”

He couldn’t really trust his ears that easily.

“W-Wait, what?”

On the other hand, she had never trusted herself much more than she had just done.

“Yes. I would love that!”

She answered with much more clarity, a teary glaze now overtaking the luminescent shades of her eyes.

“If you’d have me as your girlfriend, then it’ll be my honor, all the same!”

Now, Caelus can believe his ears.

And he wanted to do nothing more than to just…

Hold her.

His embrace had been filled with far more depth and warmth than any of the other times he had held her before. The first time had a sense of protectiveness that would’ve been overbearing in its lonesome, while the second time had been filled with some uncertainty, it was borderline experimental.

This one, however, had every element up to Firefly’s liking.

The sense of warmth, how protected, yet free she had felt, how there was just enough touch for them to feel each other’s heart, yet not at all overwhelmed by it.

To the two of them, it had been perfect.

However, perfection often seeks for more.

And as they parted for a brief moment, both their gazes were able to communicate words that didn’t end up needing to be said.

How each of their orbs had laid their vision on one another’s lips.

Tenderly, his hand lifted itself up to her cheek, and his voice was but a whisper above the buzz of the atmosphere.

“Can I…?”

“Yeah.”

She answered so quickly, yet her heart remained adamant.

Making sure that she was comfortable with his touch, Caelus slowly surged forth. His breath had tickled at the edge of her own lips, before she decided to surge forth all the same.

And they connected right in the middle, with a that electric feeling lighting up their hearts.

It was sweet, it was soft. It was patient, yet searching for something more.

It was everything that Firefly had dreamed of.

And it was everything that Caelus had more than wanted.

Their retreat was then initiated by the lack of air between both parties. Neither thoroughly expected how breathless they would be by the end of what felt like a short kiss.

Yet, time is not of the essence when two hearts can be so hopelessly lost within one another.

Caelus breathed out first.

“Wow…”

“Wow, indeed…”

“I’m not much of a romantic…” Caelus unsurprisingly confessed, “But I think that was a bang on job?”

Leave it to him to so casually talk about something that would’ve made other guys go red a thousand times before even managing to even think about talking about it.

Firefly laughed sweetly as she leant on the support of his chest, “Let’s just say that it was…” She then stole a quick peek at his cheek, “But then again, it’s really only up to us to decide, right?”

Nuzzling the tip of nose, he smiled with all the affection he could muster, “Guess that’s a bingo.”

They laughed in unison for what felt like the umpteenth time that day. Both of them not quite believing how their relationship had now developed to, yet also feeling pure confidence in the fact that they were heading for the right track.

Eventually, Caelus leans his forehead on hers.

“Hey…”

“Hmm?” Firefly perked up with a hum.

“Thank you, and…” He audibly gulped, “Is it way too early for me to say, I love you?”

Firefly feigned a thoughtful pose, “Well, what does your heart tell you to say?”

Caelus absolutely skipped past what his mind had to say.

“…I love you.”

At the sight of his forwardness, she could only chuckle freely.

“Then that’s that!” She concluded with a giggle, “If it gives you more confidence…”

She leaned that much closer to his ear.

“I love you too…”

And just like that, what Caelus thought had been a perfect day, was brought to a much more perfect finish.

Thankfully, it wasn’t exactly the end of their day, either.

A loud growl decided to make its presence known, and Firefly couldn’t help but to look down in embarrassment, as Caelus laughed at her change of expression.

“Looks like someone’s hungry…”

“Ugh, thank the Aeons that it didn’t act up when you were in the middle of your passionate speech.”

“Well, you can also thank them for the fact that I happen to know a killer night restaurant nearby…” He nudged his head towards his car that’s waiting outside, “Shall we end the night off with some quality dinner?”

To that, Firefly only had one response.

“We shall!”

Soon after Caelus and Firefly left to go for dinner…

Just at the other end of the street from where Firefly’s flower shop had been.

“Would you look at that, Welt!” Himeko delightfully sounded out, “Looks like our son knows how to treat a lady after all…”

“Seems like they were both finally able to be honest with each other.” Welt smiled as they watched the newly made couple drive off through his rear-view mirror, “Well, it looks like we can wait for the good news back at home.”

Himeko breathed a sigh of relief as she sank back into her seat, “I’m glad he was mature enough to man up and just get on with it for once.” She shook her head with an affectionate disposition, “He keeps way too much to himself at times.”

On the other hand, Welt simply turned around to look at the back seat. Both in an attempt to reverse out of their parking spot, and also to take a look at the two other passengers in the back seat.

“These two, on the other hand…” Welt said with an exasperated breath, “Are you two still sulking at each other?”

Sat just behind them were one Stelle and Dan Heng who were still unwilling to make eye contact with one another. Neither willing to spare so much as a glance at each other, even when they had so obviously wanted to do so.

“She almost broke my staff.”

“But I didn’t…”

“But you almost did…”

“That’s cause you were being stubborn about it!”

“Well, if you need a reminder, it does belong to me…”

“Either way, I didn’t break it!”

“That’s not the point-,”

“Alright, that’s enough.” Welt interjected, as they both looked away from one another with a silent humph, “Sometimes, I wonder how either of you put up with one another…”

Himeko then merely clapped to grab their attention, “Right, just drive, hun. I’ll deal with them.”

At her command, Welt simply shrugged, and proceeded to peel off into the road, whilst Himeko looked at the two sulking passengers with a devious glint in her eyes.

“Alright kids, here’s the deal. We’re going to go get some Maccas.”

She saw a slight twitch from both of their eyes, and that was all the leverage she needed.

“But, if you both are still looking to sulk like this, then neither of you gets to order.”

Silent grumbles of protest emitted from the two of them.

“Do we have a deal?”

In a flash, they both extended their hands towards one another.

“Truce?”

Dan Heng nodded in return, “Truce…”

All it took was for Welt and Himeko to spare a glance at one another, and laughed in unison as they drove off into the night.

“For the record, we’re not going to Maccas. We’re going home instead!”

“MOOOM!”

“Himeko!”

“I’m kidding!”